CHENNAI: State Registration Minister P Moorthy on Wednesday informed the State Assembly that over 12,100 self-respect marriages have taken place in the state since 2018, and the staff of the registration department were provided training in the registration of such marriages.

DMK MLA from Thousand Lights Dr Ezhilan Naganathan, raised the issue during the Question Hour in the House and said that there were many hurdles in inter caste couples getting married at the sub-registrar offices, particularly if the bride or the bridegroom, one of them, belonged to the scheduled caste or scheduled tribe community.

Such inter-caste couples were facing difficulties due to the sub registrar offices demanding many documents, the MLA added. Responding to his party MLA's criticism, Minister Moorthy said that since 2018, as many as 12,114 self-respect marriages were registered in the state under Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, and the staff at the sub-registrar offices were adequately trained and sensitized through training programs.