MSY ‘super fan’ holds mass wedding for 281 couples on SP supremo’s birthday

Even as SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav draws flak for holding an "extravagant" birthday bash in his native village of Saifai, member of legislative council (MLC) Ashu Malik, who considers himself a 'super fan' of the SP leader, tried to silence critics by organizing a mass wedding for 281 couples, from both communities, who could not afford a wedding. Malik and his friends funded the event, which cost them close to Rs 1 crore, from their own pockets.

The Manak Mau Madrassa, situated on the Saharanpur-Ambala highway just outside the city, was turned into a wedding venue with tents serving as mandapas for the weddings. Each couple was given Rs 25,000 each to start their married life. While there was no inter-religious wedding taking place at the venue, Hindu priests and Muslim clerics were paid Rs 1,000 for each wedding they conducted. The MLC said it was his ode to 'Hindu-Muslim unity' in India.

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Speaking to TOI, Malik said, "I am very close to Netaji (Mulayam). He is a source of great inspiration for me and I wanted to do something special for his birthday. He is someone who has dedicated his life to the upliftment of the poor so I thought it would be fitting to help those in need on the occasion of his birthday. This is also my ode to Hindu-Muslim unity in the country. We had people from both communities getting married in the same complex. Communal harmony is something Netaji has always stood for."

Malik, a former state minister, had organized a similar mass wedding last year, albeit on a smaller scale. "Last year, I wanted to do a good deed on Netaji's birthday as I consider it an auspicious occasion. I organized a mass wedding as well but there were only 114 couples last year. We decided to hold the wedding again this year but got more couples. This year, a total of 281 couples tied the knot at Saharanpur's Manak Mau Madrassa. This is not the taxpayer's money but money that my friends and I have put in. Couples from all over western UP came here."

Shikha Nagar (19), one of the brides that got married on Sunday, shared her love story. "My husband and I had been seeing each other for a while. We belong to different castes so my parents were initially opposed to the wedding. We even managed to convince them but they said they couldn't bear the expense for a lavish wedding. This event came as a boon for us and now we are married."

While Shikha and her husband are loyal SP supporters, there were those who supported other parties as well. Gulab Singh (22), a groom, said, "I usually vote for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but I really appreciate the efforts that Ashu Malik made. Instead of throwing money away on cakes and dance performances, they chose to spend it on needy people like me."

In addition to giving money to the couples, Malik and his team also arranged for tents and a lunch buffet for all presents. However, the expenditure does not end here for most people. Mohammed Imaan (50), whose 22-year-old nephew Salman got married on Sunday, said, "Many families will have to organize small feasts for relatives and neighbors. However, it certainly helps that the nikaah rituals were taken care of by the organizers. They even arranged a maulana for the wedding."

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