BJP veteran and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari shared his views on live-in relationships and same-sex marriages. During a podcast with YouTuber Samdish Bhatia, the minister termed live-in relationships as "wrong". He said live-in relationships will destroy society and emphasised that there are certain rules which should be followed. "Same-sex marriage would lead to the collapse of the social structure," he added.
"What will be the future of those children? If you dismantle the societal structure, what kind of impact will it have on people?" he said. The minister was asked whether India needs more or fewer children, to which he replied, "That's not the question. It is the duty of parents to have children and raise them properly."
"If you say you've had children for fun and then just look on without responsibility, this won't work," he added.
Gadkari recalled once visiting the British Parliament in London and asking the UK Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister about the major issues facing their country. "They said the biggest problem in European countries is that men and women are not interested in getting married and are opting for live-in relationships," Gadkari told the YouTuber.
Gadkari said there is a need to balance the sex ratio in the country. "If it reaches a point where there are 1,500 women and only 1,000 men, we may have to allow men to have two wives," the minister remarked.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand, ruled by the BJP, has passed a law that enforces a uniform set of rules for civil relationships — including marriage, divorce and inheritance — across all religions and makes the registration of live-in relationships mandatory.
Critics have raised an alarm against the provisions to punish live-in relationships that are not registered with the government. They say that it represents an intrusion by the state into the private lives of citizens.