Actor-politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy got married to Revathi, the grand-niece of Congress leader M Krishnappa, on April 17, amid the coronavirus lockdown.
The photographs and videos from the wedding have taken the internet by storm, stirring controversy.
The venue of the wedding was shifted to Kumaraswamy’s Bidadi farmhouse after the family felt that social distancing could not be maintained at his residence in Bengaluru.
However, in the visuals from the wedding, it can be clearly seen that the guidelines of social distancing and protection amid the pandemic have been blatantly violated.
First pictures of VIP wedding of #Nikhilkumaraswamy is out. Amidst the granduer I spot over 20 people in the image itself #HDKumaraswamy #VIP #Wedding #Lockdown2 #Covid19 https://t.co/T758jVDvAG pic.twitter.com/g9RK9Q399a
— Deepak Bopanna (@dpkBopanna) April 17, 2020
No mask, no social distancing, no lockdown. Pictures of former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy’s son’s wedding.How #IndiaFightsCorona ?? pic.twitter.com/ClAFcOgg1x
— निष्कर्ष (Nishh) (@Nishkarsh1108) April 17, 2020
Over a hundred guests can be seen joining the grand marriage ceremony without masks, which has been declared a punishable offence according to the recent guidelines issued by the Home Ministry.
According to several reports, Kumaraswamy had said that that his family had taken permission from the Chief Secretary to perform the wedding. He promised the wedding will be a low-key affair with effective measures put in place to mitigate the risk of infection among guests.
He had also said that adequate social distancing will be maintained at the wedding venue.
‘I once again request my well-wishers with folded hands, with pain and apologies – although I wanted to invite you all, these unavoidable circumstances mean it has to be limited and at home. Please forgive me, please don’t flout the rules, send them good wishes from home on Friday morning,’ the minister had said.
‘Bengaluru is also a red zone (COVID-19 hotspot). It is my luck that we had decided Ramanagara and it is still a green zone. I pray to God that it stays that way. I don’t want my function to change that,’ he added.
Ironically, turning the promised to reality seemed like a far fetched idea for the minister and his family.
The Financial Express had reported a defensive Kumaraswamy reasoning his decision to proceed with the marriage when the entire country is under lockdown due to COVID-19. He said that he had consulted several doctors before going ahead with the plan.
‘In our family itself, we have 12-13 doctors whom we consulted and decided,’ he said. Notably, there was no mention of any consultation with a government or health official before arriving at this decision.
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