Varun Gandhi to tie knot under shadow of guns

When BJP MP Varun Gandhi arrives in Varanasi for his wedding to be held on Sunday morning, chances are there would be more securitymen in his barat procession than friends and relatives.

The temple where the nuptials are to be conducted would turn into a veritable fortress with securitymen in uniform and in plain clothes covering almost every square feet of space.

Sources in the security division of the UP police said there are intelligence inputs that Varun’s wedding could be targeted, ostensibly due to his unseemly diatribe against a particular community during the Lok Sabha 2009 election campaign in Pilibhit from where he eventually won.

His victory against Congress candidate and mother Maneka Gandhi’s cousin VM Singh is largely attributed to intense communal polarisation after his infamous virtually jingoistic speech.

Varun is getting married to Yamini Roychowdhry, a fashion designer, from West Bengal. Varun and Yamini will get married at the Sri Kashi Kamkoteshwar Temple on Hanuman Ghat, one of the most sacrosanct temples in the holy city of Varanasi.

Cousin and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s participation could further queer the pitch for the men in uniform.

However, sources said because of his fractured leg it’s highly unlikely that he would turn up. Menaka and Sonia Gandhi may not see eye to eye but Varun is known to enjoy a close brotherly equation with both his cousins, Priyanka and Rahul.

A top UP Police official shares that the Kashi Kamkoteshwar Temple would be completely out-of-bounds for other devotees from late Saturday evening till the nuptials are completed.

The entire proceedings would be monitored through a network of close-circuit cameras.