Nelson Lopes
The Government of the day is seriously toying with the legislation to curb ostentious expenditures particularly on wedding celebrations. The celebrations of weddings is a personal matter of individuals and legal curbs with aim of subsidising weddings of poor is totally misplaced priority. All such regulations are fertile grounds for corruption and greasing the palms of authorities that enforce. Government is not sanctioning loans to celebrate weddings and the matter of expenditure is best left to individuals who are best judges of expenditures involved.
It must be understood that various expenditures on wedding services are quiet a burden and various specific cesses collected are not diverted properly towards the avowed goals. There are organisations who encourage mass celebrations of weddings at common place to reduce the burden of expenses and Government has never contributed, appreciated such occasions. It is only a matter of convenience and such movements are not popular and are limited in society.
It is a totally objectionable premises in a democratic country to control personal limits on wedding expenditures by the strong arm of the administrations. The government is touching dangerous grounds of personal judgments on what is fair and just for individuals in their own capacity. Permitting leverage to Government to control our private lives is a dangerous precedent fraught with serious consequences of personal rights, liberties and freedom. Anyway where will be the line drawn on ostentious celebrations? Who has complained about such expenditures for the Government to bring in legislation curbing personal freedom to decide?
Weddings in the west are strictly limited affair to friends and relatives. The guest have also to contribute towards expenses.
Here in Goa the guest numbers may run from 300 to 500 minimum and celebrations starts day in advance and continue for days afterwards with customs and traditions, let the people decide for themselves how to limit the fun, numbers and expenses. The day when numbers are controlled things will automatically fall in place. It is only the weddings of political scions that are unwieldy and are a pompous show of wealth funded by others on their behalf which is abhorable.
