15 Feb, 2007 0402hrs
PATNA: Bihar politicians do not lag behind when it comes to love. Old-timers recall that when a prominent politician belonging to the Lok Dal married a young lady from Haryana, he had to face the ire of his leader and the late Prime Minister Choudhary Charan Singh. The politician pleaded that he experienced a dream wherein Hanumanji asked him to marry the girl. The Choudhary, of course, was not amused. Even today there are several politicians who have married outside their caste and even community. Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, president of state RJD Abdul Bari Siddiqui, RJD national spokesperson Shyam Rajak, BJP MP Shahnawaz Hussain, Congress leader and former minister Ashok Choudhary and BJP national secretary Kiran Ghai are the prominent ones. However, most of them say 'no' to Valentine's Day. "I believe in love for all 365 days of the year. Not just for one day," said Siddiqui light-heartedly while stressing that he did not believe in celebrating Valentine's Day. On her part, Ghai recited a couplet of Kabir which stresses that fluctuations in love cannot be true love. "The message of Valentine is marvellous. But the celebrations have been trivialised," Ghai pointed out insisting that these days Valentine's Day has become commercialised. Incidentally, in the 1990s Ghai played a key role in the marriage of former BJP MLA Dular Chandra Goswami to the daughter of an MLA of the ruling party. The incident sparked off a hue and cry in political circles here. The matter has "settled down" since and Goswami's father-in-law is now a minister in the Nitish government. "I favour love and inter-caste marriage. Love makes a man look beyond caste and community. It is becoming more acceptable even among politicians," she said. Rajak, who is married to a Mumbai-based woman, said: "I must be among the few lucky politicians who married when the concept of celebrating Valentine's Day had just started here." Of course, it is another matter that post-marriage no Bihar politician ever ventured into a gift shop to purchase a present for the woman he wooed before marriage. "I do not get time to buy a gift even on the occasion of Teej, let alone Valentine's Day," said a neta. Interestingly, another pointed out that Valentine's Day was being promoted by an MNC. "All the greeting cards and gifts for Valentine's Day is marketed by one company at exorbitant prices. It's all business," he said. Be that as it may, the verdict is apparently out. It's 'yes' to love and 'no' to Valentine's Day for Bihar politicians.
PATNA: Bihar politicians do not lag behind when it comes to love. Old-timers recall that when a prominent politician belonging to the Lok Dal married a young lady from Haryana, he had to face the ire of his leader and the late Prime Minister Choudhary Charan Singh. The politician pleaded that he experienced a dream wherein Hanumanji asked him to marry the girl. The Choudhary, of course, was not amused. Even today there are several politicians who have married outside their caste and even community. Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, president of state RJD Abdul Bari Siddiqui, RJD national spokesperson Shyam Rajak, BJP MP Shahnawaz Hussain, Congress leader and former minister Ashok Choudhary and BJP national secretary Kiran Ghai are the prominent ones. However, most of them say 'no' to Valentine's Day. "I believe in love for all 365 days of the year. Not just for one day," said Siddiqui light-heartedly while stressing that he did not believe in celebrating Valentine's Day. On her part, Ghai recited a couplet of Kabir which stresses that fluctuations in love cannot be true love. "The message of Valentine is marvellous. But the celebrations have been trivialised," Ghai pointed out insisting that these days Valentine's Day has become commercialised. Incidentally, in the 1990s Ghai played a key role in the marriage of former BJP MLA Dular Chandra Goswami to the daughter of an MLA of the ruling party. The incident sparked off a hue and cry in political circles here. The matter has "settled down" since and Goswami's father-in-law is now a minister in the Nitish government. "I favour love and inter-caste marriage. Love makes a man look beyond caste and community. It is becoming more acceptable even among politicians," she said. Rajak, who is married to a Mumbai-based woman, said: "I must be among the few lucky politicians who married when the concept of celebrating Valentine's Day had just started here." Of course, it is another matter that post-marriage no Bihar politician ever ventured into a gift shop to purchase a present for the woman he wooed before marriage. "I do not get time to buy a gift even on the occasion of Teej, let alone Valentine's Day," said a neta. Interestingly, another pointed out that Valentine's Day was being promoted by an MNC. "All the greeting cards and gifts for Valentine's Day is marketed by one company at exorbitant prices. It's all business," he said. Be that as it may, the verdict is apparently out. It's 'yes' to love and 'no' to Valentine's Day for Bihar politicians.
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