A big VIP wedding took place in Karnataka this morning amid the coronavirus lockdown and photos showed no social distancing, masks or any precaution in the rituals. Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda’s grandson Nikhil Kumaraswamy married Revathi, the grandniece of a Congress leader and former minister, at a farmhouse about 28 km from state capital Bengaluru.
The wedding ceremony involving two political families had no guests, as claimed by former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, the groom’s father, but all traditions were followed. Family and relatives were at the farmhouse in Ramanagara of Mr Kumaraswamy, where the bride and groom exchanged garlands. Priests were seen in the backdrop as family members including Deve Gowda, 86, blessed the couple.
Nikhil, an actor-turned-politician, last came in the media glare when he contested the national election last year from his family stronghold Mandya and lost. The families had earlier organized the wedding in Bengaluru. Despite the lockdown, Mr Kumaraswamy refused to defer the big day but he did shift the venue. In a video message on Thursday, the Janata Dal Secular leader said the wedding had been moved from Bengaluru, a “red zone” for COVID-19, to Ramanagara, his assembly constituency. He appealed to supporters to stay away from the venue, promising a bigger event when the situation returned to normal.
“It would be difficult to maintain social distancing if the event was organised at home. That’s the reason we are organising the event at our farmhouse in Bidadi. I request my workers and well-wishers to avoid attending the event,” Mr Kumaraswamy said, adding that the decision to go ahead with the wedding was taken in consultation with doctors, including those in his family.
“Only around 60 to 70 people” of the family would attend the wedding, he claimed. arnataka Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan has said action will be taken against the former chief minister “without a second thought” if guidelines were not followed during the wedding.
“If this is the way we are handling the issue, it will send a very wrong message. I request my colleagues not to misuse position of power. We need to abide by rules otherwise it will send a wrong signal. Whoever is the violator, definitely we will take action. There were no instructions to police not to allow media. I will speak to (the police, district collector). They should not allow this kind of violation. We need to take action otherwise it will be a mockery of the system,” said Mr Narayan, pointing out that Mr Kumaraswamy had been in public life too long to ignore government guidelines.
