Mining baron’s G Janardhan’s daughter wedding under Income Tax scan
An extravagant 500 crore wedding of mining baron and former BJP minister B Janardhan Reddy‘s daughter marked by absolute luxury, took place at the sprawling Palace Grounds in Bangalore, raising controversies and attracting criticism from various anti-corruption activists.
Illegal mining case invoking the IT department to look into Reddy’s income sources
The founder president of National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) S.R. Hiremath, who has filed a case in the Supreme Court against illegal mining in Ballari, wants the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Central Vigilance Commission, and SIT appointed by the Supreme Court to raid Reddy’s house and inquire about the source of funds behind this luxurious wedding.
As per reports, the luxurious wedding has gained the attention of Income Tax officials, who are all set to question the former minister.
The 500 Crore wedding had five-day lavish ceremonies ,which were concluded on Wednesday as the fancy wedding stirred a huge row over its timing when people across the nation is under cash crunch after demonetisation of high value currencies.
Palace which plays host to grand weddings presented almost a surreal picture as Bramhani entered into the wedlock with Rajeev Reddy, a leading businessman’s son from Andhra Pradesh, with rituals conducted by priests from the famous Tirumala temple.
The glory of this 500 crore wedding was at such a huge scale that set replicated Vijaya Vitthala temple of Hampi, the seat of the glorious erstwhile Vijayanagara empire, and TirumalaTirupati temple were built at the venue, along with the replica of the homes of both bride and groom.
Pre-wedding events have been equally extravagant at the venue for the past five days. Artistes and dancers from different parts of the country, including Samba dancers from Brazil, were part of the wedding.
The who’s and who among the attendees
Numerous people attended the wedding and were given saplings along with sweets as a return gift.
It is said that around 50,000 people were been invited for the wedding and people were also ferried from Reddy’s bastion, mine-rich Ballari.
Reddy and family dressed up as “royals” in gold and diamond, and left no stone unturned for the wedding.
Most utensils for the wedding rituals were made either of gold or of silver and the entire venue was equipped with air conditioners.
While the overflowing fountains added glitter to the venue, orchids and other flowers were arranged fancily.
The who’s of the Kannada and Telugu film fraternity attended the wedding ceremony and wished the newly wed couple.
Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, Home Minister G Parameshwara, Energy Minister D K Shiva Kumar, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, BJP state President B S Yeddyurappa were among prominent leaders who attended.
There were reports that BJP leaders would stay away from the wedding that has come at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a surgical strike on black money, there was a lineup of leaders from the party at the event.
More surprising was the attendance of senior Congress ministers.
Earlier, Congress waged a political war against Reddy and his brothers by staging a padayatra till Ballari. Alleging that he had created “republic of Ballari” and that the BJP government had no authority there.
Reddy, who served as a minister in the BJP government, is out on bail after serving three years term in an illegal mining case.
