Bengaluru Even as Karnataka is in a grim battle against Covid-19 pandemic, former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy has thumbed his nose at rules and thrown caution to the winds by refusing to scale down, cancel or postpone his actor son Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s grand wedding planned for April 17.
HDK has built a huge pandal at his farmhouse in Ramanagara and the scale at which the infrastructure is readied for the wedding belies the claim it would be a family affair.
Initially, the wedding was to be held in Bengaluru, but since the capital city has been declared a red zone, the former CM shifted the venue to his farmhouse in his village in Ramanagara near Bengaluru. For good measure HDK asked people to stay away promising he will hold a grand reception later for party workers and others.
But Friday wedding looks like a grand affair wherein VVIPs are expected to converge. Though the rule is not over 40 people can attend weddings, the structure being built in Ramanagara can accommodate over 500 people.
HDK, who strongly believes in astrology, has defended his move not to postpone his son’s wedding saying the stars are in the right and best alignment for the groom and the bride. He said he had consulted over 15 doctors in his family who unanimously said the marriage can be conducted as Ramanagara has zero Covid19 cases.
But he was silent on the guests who may come from the red zones across the state. Meanwhile, Karnataka Dy CM Ashwath Narayan on Thursday said action will be taken against former CM Kumaraswamy without a second thought if guidelines are not followed.
He said, “If Kumaraswamy does not follow guidelines (issued by Cente), action will be taken against him without a second thought.” Meanwhile, Karnataka recorded two more Covid-related deaths on Wednesday, taking the total to 12. 19 new cases were reported on Thursday taking the total to 279 even as Bengaluru was declared a red zone.
