Chautala didn’t discuss same-gotra wedding: Home ministry
By IANSTuesday, May 11, 2010
NEW DELHI - Former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala did not seek an amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act to ban marriages between individuals having the same ancestral origin when he met Home Minister P. Chidambaram, the ministry clarified Tuesday.
Other than an incident in Sirsa district involving Haryana’s Minister of State for Home Affairs Gopal Kanda, “no subject was discussed during the meeting”, the home ministry said in a press statement.
“Chautala led a delegation to meet the home minister Monday. The delegation presented a memorandum. The memorandum was in respect of an incident in Sirsa district involving Gopal Kanda. No other subject was discussed during the meeting and no other memorandum was given to the union home minister,” the statement said.
Chautala, the Indian National Lok Dal chief, told reporters after his meeting with Chidambaram Monday that he was opposed to same-gotra marriage because “it is not right scientifically and medically”. Gotra denotes a common lineage.
However, some media reports had suggested that Chautala had raised the point with the home minister. Chautala had also said that his party would bring a proposal in the state assembly to ban same-gotra weddings.
