Mumbai, May 30: At a mass wedding celebration on Monday in the Jhabua area of Madhya Pradesh, make-up boxes presented to the brides contained condoms and contraceptive tablets.

In Thandla, 296 couples were married as part of a mass wedding celebration arranged by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan under the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah/Nikah Yojana, a programme for women from economically disadvantaged groups. Mass Wedding Ceremony in Chhattisgarh: 1100 Couples Tie Knots, CM Raman Singh Graced the Occasion. 

The programme provided free condoms and birth control tablets to newlyweds. As part of the initiative, the couples were given makeup boxes, which contained the packets.

Condoms, Birth Control Pills Found Inside Make-Up Boxes at Mass Wedding 

Bhursingh Rawat, a senior district official, placed the responsibility on the state health department, suggesting that it's likely that health workers may have supplied condoms and contraceptives as part of a family planning awareness programme.

The condoms and tablets for birth control are not our responsibility to distribute. It's probable that the health department distributed the literature as a part of its family planning education campaign. We deposit 49,000 immediately to the beneficiary's bank account as part of the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah/Nikah Yojana. We are liable for paying 6,000 for the cost of the food, water, and tent. The contents of the packages that were given out were unknown to me, Rawat stated.

The Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah/Nikah Yojana was established by the Madhya Pradesh government in April 2006 to offer financial support for the weddings of women from economically disadvantaged groups. The government gives the bride's family Rs 55,000 as part of the plan. Gujarat: Over 200 Muslim Couples Tie Knot in Mass Wedding in Ahmedabad. 

After some brides were forced to undergo pregnancy tests at a mass wedding ceremony in the Gadsarai neighbourhood of Dindori last month, the idea drew criticism. A lady whose pregnancy test was positive revealed that she had lived with her fiancé prior to the wedding.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 30, 2023 02:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).