By Sofia Rehman / Bhopal
Brides at mass wedding in MP made to take pregnancy and virginity tests. Controversy seems to be painfully wedded to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s favourite scheme — Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojna — that aims to help girls from poor families tie the knot at government expense.
Recently, officials in Betul district allegedly conducted virginity and pregnancy tests on more than 450 prospective brides, of whom, nearly nine were ‘ detected’ to be pregnant.
Maintaining that no direction was given on conducting virginity or pregnancy tests, the district administration has now ordered an inquiry into the matter.
The Betul district administration organised a mass marriage ceremony under the Mukhyamantri Kanyaadan Yojna ( MKY) in Hardu village, which comes under Chicholi Block.
More than 400 brides arrived for the mass marriage ceremony in traditional bridal finery — gilded saris and gold jewellery. Most of the grooms came in three- piece suit and safari suits.
Minutes before the exchange of garlands, and after completion of other registration formalities, district officials asked prospective brides to go through virginity and pregnancy tests if they wished to avail benefits under MKY. Under the scheme, a bride is given ` 9,000 as assistance for buying household items and ` 1,000 against wedding expenditure, an official said. It was under the presence of two district health workers — J. Budholiya and Durga Malviya — that the alleged virginity and pregnancy tests were conducted on over 400 prospective brides. “ We conducted pregnancy tests on the brides on grounds of suspicion,” Malviya told mediapersons in Hardu. The tests revealed that nine of the prospective brides were pregnant, said an official.
After the tests, chanting of Vedic hymns began and over 380 brides belonging to different castes and communities garlanded their husbands- to- be and put on their mangalsutra s as officials pronounced every couple as man and wife before the sacred fire.
Local legislator Gita Uike ( BJP), who along with scores of government officials was present at the event, said she would take up the matter with district collector.
The collector said no virginity test was conducted, but added that some couples who tried to draw benefits of the scheme through unfair means were stopped. “ No direction was given to the officials to conduct virginity or pregnancy tests. However, we have still ordered an inquiry into the matter,” Betul collector Rajesh Prasad Mishr said.
This is not the first time when local authorities have ordered virginity and pregnancy tests to weed out already- married brides and Chouhan’s flagship scheme has landed into trouble. In 2009, the Shahdol district administration had conducted virginity and pregnancy tests on the 152 prospective brides, of whom 14 were detected to be pregnant.
Reports of fake marriages and middlemen taking commission to show married couples as unmarried to get their marriage solemnised and draw monetary benefits have often made the news, with the state government receiving related complaints in over a dozen districts.
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