By IANS,
Patna : Love has a new adversary. It’s Railways Minister Lalu Prasad, the rustic charmer, who has come out against love marriages, saying youngsters ought marry according to their parents’ wishes.
“It is my request to all youngsters, men or women, not to go for love marriages. Simply follow the age-old pattern of marriage settled by parents only,” Lalu Prasad told mediapersons here Sunday.
Lalu Prasad is father of nine children – seven daughters and two sons. Three daughters of Lalu Prasad are married. The marriages were “arranged” by Lalu.
Lalu Prasad urged youngsters not to hurt their parents’ feeling by going for love marriage.
Lalu was speaking against the backdrop of the much publicised love marriage of Chand-Fiza — former Haryana deputy chief minister Chander Mohan and his lady love lawyer Anuradha Bali, both of whom converted to Islam to secretly marry at Meerut and created apolitical storm.
“Aise logo ka yehi hasher hota hai (This is what happens to such people), ” Lalu Prasad said when asked about Chand-Fiza’s love marriage.
Lalu Prasad, however, two years ago had come out in support of an already-married Patna professor whose romance with a young student prompted Patna University to suspend him.
Lalu had then said that to love is not a crime, and the professor did not commit any crime by falling in love with a girl half his age.