Protest against Ranbir-Alia’s arrival in Ujjain sparks row
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The protest by Bajrang Dal, which forced Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor and his pregnant wife Alia Bhatt to return from Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain without offering prayer, has triggered a controversy.
Reacting to the development that took place on Tuesday night, the state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said, “No one stopped them (Ranbir and Alia) from worshipping at the temple, they themselves decided not to go there, despite requests by local administration to go there and offer prayers. If they were stopped, then how other members of the team offered their prayers in side the temple?.”
The opposition Congress and the leaders from other political outfits beyond Madhya Pradesh reacted on the issue, cornering the ruling BJP for “stopping” the couple from entering to the temple.
The state Congress has termed the Hindu outfit’s protest as “political terrorism”.
However, Mishra said that the protest and the couple not offering prayers at the temple are separate matters.
Mishra, who is known for his stand on Hinduism with his straight forward replies, went ahead to give a piece of advice to Ranbir Kapoor and said, “Whoever it is, Ranbir or anyone else, they should avoid making statements that hurt religious sentiments of people.”
Mishra was reffering to Ranbir‘s decade old statement, in which the bollywood actor had said, “I am a mutton, paya, beef…red meat guy. I’m a big beef guy.”
Reacting to the Home Minister’s remarks, the state Congress’ media wing head K.K. Mishra said, “Ranbir and Aila returned from Ujjain without offering prayers at Mahakal temple due to fear of ‘political terrorism’.”
Taking to twitter over the same issue, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sharing Prime Minister Modi’s old picture with film actors, she wrote, “None of this photo op will help if you’ll continue to be mute spectators to hate and believe it’s not your business to talk politics. They will come after you anyway. Mahakaleshwar temple protests in Ujjain is a case in point. Shame that political prejudice is leading to such ugliness. This selective protest before every movie release has become an industry and a lobby, if not collectively pushed back we are fast heading into an abyss of hate, fear and silence. The entertainment industry is an employment generator, lakhs depend on it. Speak up.”
Notably, Ranbir and Alia along with the entire cast and crew of their upcoming flim, Brahmastra: Part One Shiva, flew from Mumbai to Indore, for offering prayers at Mahakal temple.
Bajrang Dal activists gathered outside the Nirmalaya Gate of the temple in Ujjain and protested against allowing the couple entry into the temple.
Due to ongoing protest on their arrival, the the entire team first returned to Ujjain district collector Ashish Singh’s residence. After spending some time there, the couple decided not to go ahead with their temple visit plans, due to security reasons, particularly for pregnant Alia Bhatt.
While Ranbir-Alia returned to Indore after spending some time at the collector’s residence, the other members of their crew, including director Ayan Mukerji went to the temple and offered prayers, before leaving for Indore.
