New Delhi: It was a wedding that captured the imagination of an entire nation, with all considering themselves invited despite the affair being “strictly” personal.
Everyone wanted to be a part of the gala event that the Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek Bachchan marriage was.
Despite the media circus, fanatic fan following and even the pictures of the “private” ceremony being leaked out, all was hunky dory till the newly-weds decided to visit Balaji temple in Tirupati.
The VIP treatment meted out to the Bachchan family during their visit on April 22 has raised hackles among devotees, forcing the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh to order an inquiry into the incident.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is learnt to have expressed anguish over the temple authorities for allowing the star-couple and their families to stay in the Ranganayaka Mandapam (sanctum sanctorum) for about 20 minutes.
"Why did the temple (authorities) take so much care? It's okay to care for every individulal, but piligrims shouldn’t (have been) stopped for 80 minutes. This is annoying all of us," said Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K Rosaiah.
The Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam Board had earlier decided not to allow VIP darshan on weekends.
But on April 22, a Sunday, the temple authorities purportedly went out of their way to make arrangements for Amitabh Bachchan and his family's visit.
They also allegedly stopped devotees for nearly 80 minutes to facilitate darshan for these celebrities.
The Board will now meet on Thursday in Tirupati to initiate inquiry into this issue.
No ordinary darshan
Accompanied by family members and friends, the star couple spent 20 minutes at the Ranganayaka Mandapam of the temple deity.
They offered prayers to the chants of Vedic hymns by 11 priests.
Among others in the Bachchan entourage were Abhishek's sister Shweta Nanda and her children, industrialist Anil Ambani, his wife Tina and politician Amar Singh.
Hundreds of devotees scrambled to catch a glimpse of the clan and security personnel had a tough time keeping the crowds at bay.
Amitabh Bachcahn is known to be a staunch devotee of Lord Balaji.
So much so that he had placed the first wedding invitation card at the feet of the deity when he visited the temple on April 15.
Bachchan, Ambani and Amar Singh had also each donated Rs 51 lakh each to the temple trust for education of poor children and treatment of poor patients.
The Bollywood icon had also visited the temple in December 2005 to pray after recovering from serious health problems.
So is it a case of genuine public concern or yet another incident of Congress government targetting the Bachchans? Only time will tell.
(With inputs from Shaikh Ahmed Ali)
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