JOIN USNikhil, Revathi tie the knot; wedding invites government flak
Actor-politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy tied the knot with Revathi on Friday at the family’s farmhouse at Kethaganahalli, near Bidadi, on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
According to reports, there were an estimated 80-100 guests — the small guest list a result of the raging virus.
Nikhil is the son of former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda. Revathi is the grand-niece of former Congress minister M Krishnappa.
According to sources, some 42 passes were issued by the district administration for the families to travel to Kethaganahalli from Bengaluru.
It was said that steps were taken to ensure social distancing in the positioning of seats and that hand sanitiser was sprayed at the entrance.
But when photographs and video footage of the wedding surfaced online, eyebrows were raised as people sans masks were seen crowding in violation of lockdown norms.
Among those who took exception was Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, who happens to be the minister in charge of Ramanagara district, where the wedding took place.
“I’ll get a report from the Ramanagara deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police,” he said. “There’s provision to allow marriages, but with limited numbers. If the attitude is that they can do whatever they want, despite being aware that they can’t, we need to send a strong message. It will be a mockery of the system otherwise.”
Originally, the wedding was to be held in Ramanagara on a grand scale, but the lockdown reduced it to a mere family affair. The family, which held ceremonies in their JP Nagar house on Thursday, travelled for the event on Friday morning and left from the farm house by afternoon. Food was catered from a hotel in Bengaluru, sources said.
After the wedding, Kumaraswamy tweeted expressing gratitude to all his supporters. “The wedding was held in a simple manner, keeping government regulations in mind.”