As India’s masses grapple with the mayhem of losing
big bank notes, Janardhana Reddy spends US$80 million on his daughter's
nuptials at Bangalore Palace
As
India’s masses grapple with the mayhem of demonetization, an extravagant
wedding ceremony in the south this week appears to be ignoring Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s announcement that shook India on Nov. 8.
Gali
Janardhana Reddy, a mining magnate with connections to the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP), has reportedly spent more than US$80 million on the wedding
ceremony for his daughter Brahmani today.
Modi made
the announcement on Nov. 8 that 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes would be
withdrawn from circulation at midnight, saying it was part of a crackdown on
rampant corruption and counterfeit currency. Chaos spread across the country
over limited cash availability.
In 1999
to 2009, the Reddy brothers – Janardhana, Karunakara and Somashekara – were
instrumental in bringing the BJP to power in Karnataka. The Union Minister of
External Affairs Sushma Swaraj was among the top BJP leaders who were their
close associates.
But the
BJP distanced itself from the Reddy brothers when Janardhana was arrested over
illegal mining. Janardhana Reddy is the owner of the Obulapuram Mining
Corporation and a former minister in Karnataka state. Now, he is out on bail.
His
daughter Brahmani’s wedding is taking place at the Bangalore Palace grounds,
with about 50,000 guests expected to attend.
The LCD
wedding invite hit headlines in the Indian media. It was sent in a blue box
that had an embedded LCD screen, which played a musical video invite. The
invitation alone is said to have cost an estimated US$738,057. It was reported
that chartered planes are ferrying in guests from various parts of the country.
Such
overt displays of extravagant spending comes at a time when the common man is
running from pillar to post to exchange the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, and
withdraw money within the 2,000 rupee a day limit to manage daily expenses.
An
entourage of politicians and film stars, among other celebrities, are attending
the event, which boasts of extravagant sets that resemble a rural paradise and
the recreation of monuments, as well as dancers from various parts of the
world and various other entertainment.
Latest
reports said Karnataka’s BJP president Yeddyurappa and the state’s former chief
minister Jagadish Shettar among others had arrived to bless the couple.
Reddy has
rented about 36 acres of land at the sprawling palace for this week’s
extravaganza. Among the sets erected at the palace was a replica of the groom’s
house in Hyderabad, a temple and a village-like setting of Bellary.
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