Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s younger son, Abhimanyu Yadav, married Dr Ishita Yadav. (X)

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s younger son, Abhimanyu Yadav, married Dr Ishita Yadav during a mass wedding ceremony held in Ujjain on Sunday, November 30. The large-scale event, which saw 21 couples tying the knot together, has since become a major topic of public discussion.

All the brides and grooms, elegantly dressed for the occasion, arrived at the venue in a grand procession on horses and decorated carriages. Reacting to the unique ceremony, Mohan Yadav said, “The Prime Minister has always stressed that weddings should be simple. That is why everyone is getting married together.”

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also attended the wedding. “By getting married in a mass wedding ceremony, a very big message has been given,” he said. Abhimanyu reacted to his wedding, saying, “This is a royal wedding – many grooms are here with me.”

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Bageshwar Dham chief Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri were also present at the ceremony.

Praising the initiative, Shastri said that during their foot march they had raised the slogan of bidding farewell to casteism, and now, under one roof, people from every caste and religion were taking their wedding vows together.

Calling it a highly commendable step by the Chief Minister, he added that on one side a driver was getting married, and on the other, the son of the man who “drives” the state was also tying the knot on the same platform.

“A wedding like this will set an example. I believe that other Chief Ministers, leaders, and industrialists should take inspiration from this and reduce the expenses spent on extravagant weddings. Now we need to move from destination weddings to divine weddings,” Ramdev said.

At a time when destination weddings and lavish celebrations dominate the social scene, CM Mohan Yadav has sought to send a strong social message by opting for a simple wedding. At the mass wedding ceremony held at Sanwara Khedi in Ujjain, as many as 21 couples, including the Chief Minister’s son and daughter-in-law, are taking their vows together.