After demonetising old 500 and 1000-rupee notes, the BJP government has taken yet another step as part of its campaign against black money and corruption.
According to a Times of India report, the BJP high command has instructed all its partymen to skip the high-profile wedding of mining scam accused and former BJP minister Janardhan Reddy’s daughter In Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Party sources said that BJP feels that its image may get tarnished if its partymen attend the lavish wedding which comes amid the chaos and politics over the government’s demonetisation move.
“The party has not issued a formal order but the party has said it's better to stay away from the big fat wedding in these times,” a senior party leader was quoted by Times of India as saying.
On the other hand, another leader said that prominent leaders, including BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa, may attend the event considering that Reddy has served the party. He, however, added that union ministers and other prominent national leaders ay skip the wedding.
Moreover, many Karnataka ministers and city VVIPs have also expressed their regrets over not attending the wedding.
Prominent leaders from the Congress and JD(S), including chief minister Siddaramaiah, former PM H D Deve Gowda and state JD(S) president H D Kumaraswamy, are still not sure whether they’ll attend the event.
“Siddaramaiah had launched a relentless campaign against the mining scam when he was the leader of the opposition and had demanded a CBI probe. What message would he be sending if he attends this marriage?” asked a Congress leader.
Gali Janardhan Reddy, former Karnataka minister who raked in a fortune through illegal mining, is now spending a fortune to make the wedding ceremony of his daughter an opulent affair.
The invites to the wedding, which is believed to be worth Rs 500 crore and is scheduled on November 16, were sent on LCD devices.
Moreover, there have been reports of Bollywood and Kannada stars, including Shah Rukh Khan to perform at the wedding. However, Reddy family sources have denied they had invited Shah Rukh for the event.
49-year-old Janardhan Reddy, who is considered to be one of the most powerful men in Karnataka, spent three years in jail in connection with illegal mining and was released on bail last year.
Janardhan and his brother G Karunakara Reddy were ministers in the BJP government headed by BS Yeddyurappa till July 2011. Reddy was later arrested by the CBI.
