In a bid to discourage the practice of lavish weddings, a senior member of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan Cabinet, Gopal Bhargava, will hold nuptial ceremonies of his two children at a mass marriage function near here. Unlike the extravagant functions organised by politicians for their children, Bhargava said wedding ceremonies of his son and daughter will be organised at the mass marriage event on April 22 at Garhakota in the district, nearly 40 km from here.
The State Panchayat and Social Justice Minister, Gopal Bhargava, while talking to 'The Pioneer' over the phone, said, "A few days ago, when I met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite him for weddings of my son and daughter I told him that they are going to be held at a mass marriage function. Modiji patted me saying, I was doing a good work."
An MlA from Raheli Assembly, the Minister's son, Abhishek, an MBA, and daughter, Avantika, a doctor, readily agreed to be part of the mass marriage ceremony, which will be held under the Mukhya Mantri Kanyadaan Yojna. As many as 1,200 couples including 28 Muslim couples will tie the nuptial knot at the ceremony on April 22.
Bhargava, an MlA since 1985, has been a champion to promote mass marriage culture in the Bundelkhand region and helped people organise various mass weddings where over 14,000 couples have tied the knot in past 14 years, BJP leader Shailendra Kesarwani said.
Bhargava had on an earlier occasion announced that he would not take the subsidy on cooking gas. The decision was taken by the Minister on the call of Prime Minister Modi. The Minister not only made an announcement in this regard but also informed the Indian Oil Corporation about his decision that gas should be supplied against his consumer number 14499 without any subsidy.