Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday addressed the controversy surrounding co-star Sara Ali Khan’s reported visit to Himalayan shrines, saying there should be no hesitation in “speaking the truth”.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament’s comments came after reports that temple committee chairman Badrinath Kedarnath had asked Sara Ali Khan to submit an affidavit before offering prayers at temples.
“Everyone is Sanatani…Yahan jo bhi hain Sanatani hain…Wo bhi Sanatani hai, so why be afraid to write the truth,” Ranaut told reporters outside Parliament on Wednesday.
BKTC chairman Hemant Dwivedi said on Tuesday that if film actress Sara Ali Khan submits an affidavit of her faith in Sanatan, she will be allowed entry into Badrinath and Kedarnath temple complexes.
“Those (non-Hindus) who believe in Sanatan Dharma – and who provide a written statement stating, ‘I am Sanatani; I believe in Hindutva’ – are all welcome,” Dwivedi told a press conference.
On March 11, a temple committee official was quoted by news agency PTI as saying that entry of non-Hindus into 47 temples, including the prominent shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, would be banned from this year.
The decision was taken at a board meeting Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committeewhich was held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of its president Hemant Dwivedi. The motion received unanimous approval.
When specifically asked about the actress, who has visited the shrine several times and even shot the film ‘Kedarnath’, Dwivedi remarked, “If Sara Ali Khan affirms that she has faith and devotion to Sanatan and subsequently submits an affidavit to that effect, she will be granted darshan.”
He further informed that BKTC has already developed a standardized format for this affidavit.
Dwivedi said that this proposal has since been forwarded to the Uttarakhand government.
Everyone is eternal…everyone here is eternal…they are also eternal, so why be afraid to write the truth.
This year’s one Char Dham Yatra is scheduled to begin on April 19 at the same time as Akshaya Tritiya. The portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples will be opened on the same day, while the portals of Badrinath Dham will be opened on 23 April and the portals of Kedarnath Dham on 22 April.
