The ruling party leader of India’s BJP, Yashpal Benam was forced to cancel his daughter’s wedding to a Muslim boy after a wedding card went viral, resulting in a major controversy.
The Hindutva hardliners criticized the BJP leader along with the saffron party for allegedly having “double standards” about the situation. Others called the marriage an act of “Love Jihad,” comparing it to a recently released controversial movie called “The Kerala Stories.”
On Saturday, the BJP leader declared that he canceled the wedding with mutual consent with the groom’s family, located in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal. The wedding was scheduled for May 28th. The viral wedding card gained a lot of attention on social media and resulted in both supporters and opposers of the extremist BJP and its ideologies trolling and criticizing Benam.
A Facebook user said, “The BJP-ruled states are making films like ‘The Kerala Story’ tax-free while a BJP leader’s daughter is marrying a Muslim man. These are double standards of the BJP, and party workers will get demoralized.”
The BJP leader stated that, “As a public representative, I did not want my daughter’s marriage to take place under the protection of the police and the administration. I respect public sentiments.” He further added, “My daughter was going to get married to a Muslim youth. Keeping in view the happiness and future of the children, both families had decided to get them married, for which the cards were also printed and shared. But after the invitation card for the wedding went viral on social media, many types of things came to the fore objecting to the wedding.”
The leader said, “After the controversy erupted, with mutual consent, both families decided not to carry out the marriage rituals for the time being.” However, he mentioned that a final decision regarding his daughter’s marriage to the same man would be made together with all the family members, well-wishers, and the groom’s side.
Some Indian media outlets have reported that authoritarian figures deny claims of polarization, and the consequent manifestation in society unless it is “fictionalized” in movies blaming one religious faith. This incident potentially bears testimony to the dichotomization in contemporary Indian society.
