CHENNAI: The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has promised to come up with a new law to make ‘parental approval’ mandatory in marriages involving individuals below 21 years of age. The party, which is part of the BJP-led alliance, in its poll manifesto for the Lok Sabha election released in Chennai on Wednesday, claimed that the proposed law will preserve the family structure and well-being of the young adults.
Dr S Ramadoss, PMK founder, released the manifesto which promised to get the new government at the centre to enact a law to guarantee Minimum Support Price for farm produce.
The party also pledged to strive to ensure proportionate reservation for all communities in the state as per their population and to eliminate the existing 50% cap on the reservation and creamy layer principle in education and job opportunities in union government institutions.
The party said a law that mandates parental consent to solemnise marriage of young adults will be introduced to protect girls from getting cheated in ‘staged marriages’. The party claimed that such laws exist in countries such as Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, and Brazil and that the Karnataka High Court, too, had underscored the need for such a legislation.
The party also promised that it would strive to create a safe environment for women by protecting them from sexual abuse and other harassment.
On matters of states’ rights, PMK promised to establish a new commission under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of India to explore avenues of decentralisation of powers from centre to states. The party also vowed to bring subjects such as education that were moved to the concurrent list back to the state’s list.
The party said it is committed to ensuring 50% allocation of central revenue to state governments. The party assured that acquisition of farmlands for industrial projects would be banned, and the proposal for three new lignite mines in the Cuddalore district would be dropped in order to create a ‘mines-free’ state.
The party has also guaranteed the creation of 30 lakh new jobs in union government departments nationwide and an additional three lakh postings in union government offices in Tamil Nadu.
The party also pledged financial assistance to various segments of society, including unemployed youth, women living below the poverty line, and senior citizens. PMK said that it would bring back the old pension scheme for government employees and increase PF interest to 10%. The party also pledged to reduce gold prices by eliminating the 15% gold import tax.