NEW DELHI, 19 April 2004 — “Had I known that I would be encountering this, I may not have joined the political race,” admitted Dharmendra, Bollywood star and BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Bikaner in Rajasthan. While filing the nomination papers, Dharmendra left the column requiring his wife’s name blank. Asserting that he did not do this deliberately, Dharmendra expressed that it may have slipped out of his mind.
Little was Dharmendra earlier aware that “matrimonial” alliance with Hema Malini could spell political trouble for him.
The irony of it is that his “second wife” Hema Malini is a member of Rajya Sabha. In her bio-data, Hema Malini has listed Dharmendra as her husband.
Politically and legally, Dharmendra appears to have landed himself on a sticky wicket, getting out of which is not going to be an easy task. Going “garam” will not spell relief for Dharam for it is a sticky question of what his “dharma” (religion) is now, what was it earlier and what religion does his second marriage rest on? Whether for electoral reasons or otherwise, Dharmendra has claimed that his wife is Prakash Kaur.
When interviewed by a television news service on his having changed his religion to marry Hema Malini, Dharmendra aggressively denied this by saying, “I am a Hindu. The question of my having ever changed religion does not exist.” He also said, “My wife is Prakash Kaur.” But his statements on the small screen are least likely to convince at least the opposition parties.
If Dharmendra is a Hindu and Kaur is his wife legally, what is his relationship with Hema Malini? Hindu religion does not recognize a second wife, while the first wife is alive or a divorce has not taken place.
Dharmendra and Hema have two daughters. He has two sons by his first marriage.
The Congress has accused Dharmendra of having violated Hindu Marriage Act and Islamic Shariah by hiding information about the “change in name and religion” for his marriage with Hema Malini.
