Legalise self-respect marriages at national level: Karuna

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday demanded that the 'self-respect' marriages should be given legal status in all the states of the country.

In a letter to the Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj, he said the Centre should come out with a law in this regard.

He said it would strengthen communal harmony and the Centre should consider the demand on a priority basis.

Envisaged by rationalist leader E V R Periyar, the 'self-respect marriages' were legalised by the first DMK government in Tamil Nadu led by C N Annadurai in 1967. The marriages do away with elaborate rituals.