On September 7, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor’s return from Mahakaleshwar Mandir without Darshan on a September 6 night following the protests by Bajrang Dal activists stirred a controversy. It was reported that Bajrang Dal activists allegedly stopped the duo from taking blessings from Bhagwan Shiv. However, recent updates on the matter show a different side of the story.
According to Madhya Pradesh State Home Minister Narottam Mishra, the duo was not stopped from Darshan. In fact, there were adequate security arrangements, and the administration had requested them to go ahead with Darshan, but they returned.
फिल्म अभिनेता रणबीर कपूर और अभिनेत्री आलिया भट्ट के महाकाल बाबा के दर्शन की पूरी व्यवस्था उज्जैन प्रशासन ने की थी, लेकिन प्रशासन के आग्रह के बावजूद रणबीर और आलिया खुद दर्शन के लिए नहीं गए।
— Dr Narottam Mishra (@drnarottammisra) September 7, 2022
वैसे लोगों की भावनाओं को आहत करने वाले शब्दों का प्रयोग कलाकारों को नहीं करना चाहिए। pic.twitter.com/uiWB2tf9Hj
Speaking to the media, Mishra said, “Protest was a different matter. No one stopped them from Darshan. Ayan and others from their team went for Darshan. There were adequate arrangements. They were requested to go ahead to go for Darshan. I talked to the administration, and they told me they had requested the couple to go, but they did not because of the protests. The artists should restrain from using any derogatory language that may hurt people’s sentiments.”
The whole incident was narrated by journalist Anuraag Singh following his conversation with the minister. He added that one of the Bajrang Dal activists, Dilip, was booked by the Police under Section 353 after he allegedly got into an altercation with the Police outside Mahakaleshwar Mandir.
Meanwhile, the local police in Ujjain, have booked an alleged Bajrang Dal worker, Dilip under Section 353 for getting physical with on duty cops, during protests outside the Mahakal Temple on Tuesday evening. @NewIndianXpress @TheMornStandard @santwana99
— Anuraag Singh (@anuraag_niebpl) September 7, 2022
OpIndia reached out to Ankit Choubey, district President of Bajrang Dal. He said, “We were not there to stop them from entering the temple for Darshan. We were there to mark our Protest over the statements given by the actors in the past, especially what Ranbir had said about eating beef. However, we did not stop anyone from doing Darshan.”
He added, “You are aware that Ayan and others went for Darshan in the temple, right? If we wanted to stop them, we would have stopped everyone and not Ranbir and Alia selectively.” Speaking about the altercation one of the activists had with the Police, he said, “We were peacefully protesting at the site. There was some altercation between the Police and our activists. Dilip got hurt during the altercation, and he was booked by the Police as well. Currently, he is in ICU as he was suffering from severe pain in the chest and back.”
Ankit said, “Everyone knew from which route they were coming. If we wanted to stop them, we would have stopped them at the toll or at the entrance of the city. Why would we allow them to enter if that were our intention to begin with? It was their wish not to go for Darshan.”
