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2G dampens Alagiri son’s wedding party
The 2G spectrum scandal has an unforeseen fallout. The grand wedding of chemicals and fertilisers minister MK Alagiri’s son on Thursday may turn out to be a low-key affair.
The 2G spectrum scandal has an unforeseen fallout. The grand wedding of chemicals and fertilisers minister MK Alagiri’s son on Thursday may turn out to be a low-key affair.
The groom, Durai Dayanidhi, a film producer, will tie the knot with Anusha, the daughter of Chennai lawyer PS Seetharaman, at Tamukkam Grounds in the heart of the city at 9.30 am on Thursday.
With the assembly elections just six months away, Alagiri, DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s elder son, does not want to hand over a fresh weapon to the arch rival, J Jayalalithaa’s AIDMK.
Plus, following the ouster of former telecom minister A Raja for his role in the spectrum scam, no one from the Gandhi family is expected to attend the event. There is no word from the Prime Minister’s office either.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, home minister P Chidambaram, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and shipping minister GK Vasan will attend, while the tinsel world will be represented by Rajinikanth, Kamal Hasan and AR Rahman.
Sources said Alagiri had instructed partymen to ensure that the public was not inconvenienced because of the wedding. His brother and deputy chief minister, MK Stalin, checked the wedding arrangements.
On Wednesday evening, Karunanidhi received guests at the wedding-eve reception in the city. And among those at the venue was Karunanidhi’s blue-eyed boy, Raja.
However, workers of the DMK, the party over which Alagiri’s family has had a virtual monopoly since CN Annadurai died in 1969, are celebrating in a big way. Six big balloons announce the wedding from the skies over the city. Roads are festooned. Wine shops are doing brisk business. DMK member Thangavel said the scam had taken a toll on people’s spirits.
The idea behind the event was to put in the shade the wedding of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s stepson about 15 years ago.