Urvashi Rautela has been recently grabbing headlines for her claim that she made saying she was worshipped by people and has a temple in her name near Badrinath Temple. However, after receiving much backlash, the actress' team clarified and stated that she didn't mean to hurt religious sentiments.
The controversy began after an interview in which actress Urvashi Rautela mentioned that a temple near a sacred town had been constructed in her name. Her statement quickly sparked backlash from local residents and religious leaders, who criticized the remark for being inappropriate and misleading.
In response to the growing criticism, Urvashi’s team issued an official clarification through Instagram on April 19. The statement addressed the misunderstanding surrounding her temple-related comments, stressing that Rautela never referred to the temple as belonging to her in a possessive sense.
Instead, the clarification aimed to dispel any misconceptions and reaffirm her respect for religious sentiments.
The statement read, "Urvashi Rautela said that there is a temple in her name in Uttarakhand, not 'Urvashi Rautela’s temple'. Now, people don’t even listen properly; just hearing ‘Urvashi’ or ‘temple’, they assume that people worship Urvashi Rautela. Please listen to the video carefully and then speak. Urvashi said, yes, at Delhi University, she was referred to as ‘Damdami Mai’, and there’s a news article supporting this. Legal action should be taken against those who have made misleading remarks about Urvashi Rautela’s statement."
She had also mentioned once that devotees, including students from Delhi University, visited the temple and labelled her as ‘Damdami Mai’. During a recent interview with Sidharth Kanan, Urvashi stated, "Yes, because I have worked in the South, so it (the temple) should be there."
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Locals and religious authorities quickly criticised Urvashi Rautela's comments, deeming them unsuitable. One prominent priest and former Badrinath Dham religious official, Bhuwan Chandra Uniyal, was among them and vehemently refuted her allegations. The temple she was referring to, he clarified, is actually an old shrine to Goddess Sati and is significant as one of the 108 Shaktipeeths.
Uniyal stated that it was false to link the temple to Rautela and that such claims should not be accepted. Additionally, he called on the government to take decisive action against those who make such false claims.
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