Karnataka Minister’s Daughter Marries in Mass Wedding Ceremony

www.mangaloretoday.com

Bengaluru, Nov 26, 2014 (NDTV):  The daughter of a Karnataka minister surveyed the best hotels in Bengaluru before marrying a company executive at a venue that she shared with 96 other couples last week.

H Anjaneyulu, the state Social Welfare Minister, insisted that his daughter be part of a mass wedding ceremony, at a time his government is proposing a tax on lavish weddings. His gesture was received with skepticism - and some anger - among friends and relatives.

 

Even Anupama, his daughter, had to be talked into dedicating one of the biggest moments of her life to a political message. She reportedly considered many hotels and party venues before giving in to her father’s suggestion - a mass wedding at his hometown Chitradurga.

She bought just one sari for the ceremony on November 19, and has reportedly received no jewellery or sari as gifts from her parents.

On VIP wedding invites, the Bangalore Palace Grounds or five-star hotels are the most common addresses.

 "My daughter and son-in-law visited the best hotels in Bengaluru. Eventually, they married with 96 other couples from BPL (below poverty line) families," the minister has been quoted as telling a newspaper.

The state government recently announced that lavish weddings would be taxed and the money would be used for mass ceremonies, where inter-caste couples would be rewarded Rs. 25 lakh.