Amidst calls in the Kerala assembly to control spending and policy discussions on barring lavish weddings, the wedding of the daughter of CPI MLA Geetha Gopi has come under criticism. After several images of Geetha’s daughter decked up for the wedding, donning a huge amount of gold jewellery, went viral online, the MLA is facing the ire of her own party workers.
Geetha conducted her daughter’s wedding a few days ago at the Poonthanam auditorium at Guruvayur in Thrissur, and many believe that the flamboyance of the wedding doesn't befit a communist leader. Geetha Gopi represents the Nattika constituency, in Thrissur.
With criticism flowing in from several quarters, many have called this an ‘embarrassment’ to the party, and have cited examples of how CPI leader and former minister Binoy Viswam had conducted a simple wedding for his two daughters.
Even members of the youth wing of CPI, the All India Youth Federation, seem to have criticized the event. Posting the image of the wedding of AIYF’s Puthiyakavu unit secretary Renchu on Facebook, E R Randeep said sarcastically, “Madam, see this.”
The MLA told a Malayalam news website that she had only done what a parent was obliged to do for a daughter. "We did not overdo anything. Traditionally, we are supposed to give our daughter something and we did only that," she said.
When TOI contacted Geetha regarding this, she reportedly asked, “Which mother won’t do this for her own daughter?” She further explained that the family purchased gold ornaments weighing 50 sovereigns for the daughter and the rest was gifted by relatives. While the rent of the auditorium was Rs 1 lakh, the food per person cost Rs 50 only, she reportedly said.
The state executive of the party has however directed the Thrissur district council to seek an explanation from Geetha, reports Mathrubhumi Online. The state committee has also asked the party’s Thrissur leadership to conduct a probe.
“Display of luxury is not acceptable to the party. There are norms for party workers and activists on such issues. Being an MLA she should have been cautious not to violate them,” CPI state joint secretary Prakash Babu told Times of India.
Recently, Geetha’s party colleague and Kerala Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Rathkaran had made an appeal to the Chief Minister on the floor of the Assembly to bring in a legislation banning luxurious weddings, however, the CM had said that there can be no legal control on wedding expenses.
In 2015, the Kerala Women's commission had submitted a list of proposed regulations to the state government. The Commission proposed that there should be only one event at the wedding and the number of guests shall not exceed 200. Apart from recommending a cap on expenditure for the hall and wedding invites, the Commission said that a bride shall not use more than 120 grams of gold. Though the Commission and several others have shown inclination to curb wedding expenses, the Chief Minister had recently stated that this was not possible.