TIRUNELVELI: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy would have tied the nuptial knot with a young bride on Wednesday but for the quick intervening tug at the sleeve by his political protege and former IAS officer, V S Chandraleka, who had accompanied him to a wedding that he was expected to solemnise.
Though 75-year-old Swamy turned to the groom immediately and handed over the ‘thaali’, the visual of his faux pas was captured on camera by a Tamil television channel that played it in its news bulletin. Soon, with the video, running just over a minute, going viral on social media, it evoked a plethora of hilarious remarks.
Many comments on Facebook invoked the name ‘Kokki’ Kumar, the anti-hero of the Tamil film, Pudupettai who would tie the thaali around the neck of the bride at the wedding to which he was invited as chief guest.
But many others were amused by Swamy’s awkward reaction after the gaffe. The sheepish grin was pointed out by many online, while Chandralekha’s expression was described as ‘priceless’ in a tweet, though she was not recognised or identified but referred to as a ‘woman who saved the day’. Even the bride and the groom or the place of action was not known to those who shared, liked and commented with gusto.
Incidentally, the goof-up happened inside the Sri Subramania Swamy temple in Tirunelveli, where the marriage of Sivagnana Selvi, daughter of V Sudalaimuthu Thevar, and B Balashanmugham, a diploma holder, took place between 6 and 7 am. As the groom’s father, Veni P Balasubramaniam is a BJP functionary, he had invited Swamy to solemnise the wedding. Swamy first prayed with the ‘thaali’ in hand then moved towards the bride, leaving everyone in a momentary state of shock. However, the marriage and the subsequent celebrations went on without a hitch.