'No one stopped Ranbir, Alia from entering temple in Ujjain': Madhya Pradesh minister after couple faces protest

After reports of Bollywood couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt being stopped from offering prayers at the Shree Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain amid a protest by Bajrang Dal activists, state home minister has clarified that it was the actors’ call to not do the Darshan.

MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra said, “The Ujjain administration has briefed me about the entire episode. The couple was requested by the administration to go ahead with offering prayers.”

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

वैसे लोगों की भावनाओं को आहत करने वाले शब्दों का प्रयोग कलाकारों को नहीं करना चाहिए pic.twitter.com/uiWB2tf9Hj

— Dr Narottam Mishra (@drnarottammisra) September 7, 2022

According to the police, the couple was supposed to offer prayers on Tuesday for which the temple committee along with the district administration and the police had made elaborate security arrangements. The couple was promoting their upcoming movie Brahmastra in Ujjain.

However, the Bajrang Dal activists opposed the actors` entry based on an alleged remark made by Ranbir Kapoor in 2011 over the beef issue. A video of the incident right-wing activists protesting surfaced on social media on Wednesday.

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"Due to security concerns, the couple returned from Ujjain to Indore without offering prayers at temple in the wake of the protests. However, other members of `Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva` film crew later offered prayers at the temple," said a police official in Ujjain.

Meanwhile, the police detained one of the protesters after he got into a physical altercation with an officer on duty.

"We won`t allow Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt into the temple over the liking for beef remark. We`ll protest in big manner against local administration and police over the assault on our worker," Bajrang Dal leader Ankit Chaube had said, IANS reported.