Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi has landed in trouble over an inter-caste marriage as the police have registered a case of kidnapping against him, based on the complaint of the bride's parents. But the bride Nalini, an engineering graduate, has denied the charge and said that she had married the boy on her own accord.
The Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar police station in Hyderabad registered a case of kidnapping and illegal confinement against Chiranjeevi, his friend and father of the groom Dalit poet Katti Padma Rao and the groom Chetan, under Indian Penal Code sections 34, 343 and 501.
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Chiranjeevi, who launched his Praja Rajyam party less than a fortnight ago, had attended the wedding at the invitation of Rao, who is a member of his party.
The police registered the case against the trio a day after Nalini's parents T Subba Rao and Nagishwara Mani approached Home Minister K Jana Reddy for help, alleging that the actor had got their daughter kidnapped and forced her to marry Chetan. While the girl belongs to an upper caste family from the West Godavari district, Chetan hails from the Dalit community.
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Nalini's parents also alleged that when they tried to stop the wedding ceremony, held as per Buddhist rituals, they were confined to a room and were released only after the ceremony was over.
However, Nalini strongly denied the charge of kidnapping or forceful marriage. Appearing before the media with her husband and father-in-law, she declared, "I am an adult and the law gives me the right to take my own decisions on marriage. I have married on my own accord. Nobody abducted me or forced me to marry," she said.
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Nalini said that she had to go against the wishes of her parents as they were unhappy about her marriage with a Dalit boy. Denying any role of Chiranjeevi in her marriage, Nalini said, "Chiranjeevi sir attended the marriage and blessed us. He had no other role".
But the parents said that during her recent visit to her home town, Nalini had got engaged to another boy of their choice and had come to Hyderabad to bring back her belongings. The parents also met Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu for help, but he said he needed time to study the case before taking any action.
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Prakala Prabhakar, the official spokesperson of Praja Rajyam, refused to comment on the case.
Meanwhile, a team of Samajwadi party leaders led by general secretary Amar Singh is scheduled to meet Chiranjeevi in Hyderabad on Sunday, amidst speculations that the SP was trying to forge an alliance with the party. The SP team will also include Jaya Prada and Jaya Bachchan.
Prabhakar, the official spokesperson of Praja Rajyam, said, "As our party has been recently launched, they are coming to greet our party leader and discuss the political situation. It will be a courtesy call".
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But when his attention was drawn to Amar Singh's statement in Delhi that Praja Rajyam and Samajwadi party will work together, Prabhakar said that the leaders could discuss the political situation in the country.
When asked how the two parties could work together when SP was an ally of the Congress at the Centre and Praja Rajyam was pitted against the Congress in the state, Prabhakar said, "Chiranjeevi will keep all these points in mind".
Praja Rajyam has also announced an ex gratia of Rs five lakh to the kin of each of the four victims who were killed in Kakainada, while celebrating the formation of the party by Chiranjeevi last month.
