india

Updated: Aug 08, 2014 21:22 IST

A BJP MLA of Jharkhand has defended his son's controversial third marriage, saying that earlier "kings and rulers had hundreds of wives", an argument which matched the near-farcical sequence of events preceding the wedding.

The comment by Ramchandra Baitha, the legislator from Kanke, came in the wake of his son Chandan admitting to his marriage to a college student. The marriage was made public through a status update and photographs posted on Facebook.

"No power in this world can defeat love… Earlier, kings and rulers had hundreds of wives, my son has married only the third time," Baitha said.

He, however, declined to make any comment on his new daughter-in-law.

The marriage had caught the state's attention for the circumstances surrounding it, starting with an abduction complaint on July 29, slapped against the MLA and his son by the girl's father, one Shiv Kumar Mahato.

In turn, the MLA had filed a counter-complaint against Mahato and six others, accusing them of kidnapping his son.

Chandan, 26, ended all speculations two days later when he posted his marriage pictures with Mahato's daughter announcing that they were in love and hence decided to exchange garlands in the presence of few known friends.

A father of two children, Chandan's previous two marriages had failed.

What complicated the case was the fact that Chandan had not legally divorced his two earlier wives, potentially bringing bigamy and adultery into the scene.

Police, however, said that they could not act against Chandan unless his two previous wives lodged any complaints.

But the story with an almost Bollywood-like twists and turns is yet to reach a happy ending.

Baitha said he would withdraw his complaint against the girl's family-members. "I had lodged the FIR because he had gone missing with his vehicle and could not be traced for six days," he added.

But the girl's father was yet to show any signs of reconciliation. He has so far refused to comment on the marriage.

Police said unless Mahato withdraws his complaint, they would have to produce the girl in court and record her statement.

And last but not the least, the incident has also assumed a political hue with the Congress flaying Baitha for his "kings and rulers" comments.

State Congress general secretary Anadi Brahm said that the BJP legislators in Jharkhand had become too big for their boots.

"They are no more people's servants," he said, warning that such incidents will reflect on them in the forthcoming assembly polls.