Stakeholders' Interests Will Be Protected: Hema Malini After Criticism Over Bankey Bihari Corridor Remark
A video has surfaced online in which Hema Malini can be heard purportedly saying, "We will build the corridor and those opposing (it), we may have to ask them to leave and go elsewhere."
Mathura (UP), Jul 6 (PTI) A day after local residents and priests frowned upon Hema Malini's reported comment regarding the proposed Bankey Bihari corridor, the Mathura MP on Sunday said an old video is being made viral to malign her image and that the interests of all stakeholders will be protected.
A video has surfaced online in which Hema Malini can be heard purportedly saying, "We will build the corridor and those opposing (it), we may have to ask them to leave and go elsewhere." The reported statement has been met with outrage from various sections of the community here.
When asked, Hema Malini on Sunday told PTI over the phone, "The video was taken before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The misinformation is deliberately spread among the masses to create differences." The actor-turned-politician said that the corridor will be built only after an order from the Supreme Court, and "the interests of all stakeholders will be preserved".
"Mathura is my 'karmabhoomi'. I am continuously working to make this city better. All projects we did were designed in such a way to protect the interest of locals," she said, adding that she came here in service of Lord Krishna, and "Brijwasi are part of my family".
The proposed Bankey Bihari corridor aims to ease crowd pressure and improve facilities for devotees. However, locals, including the Goswami community and shopkeepers, fear displacement, loss of heritage, and disruption to the traditional character of Vrindavan.
On Saturday, Gyanendra Kishor Goswami, a priest at the Bankey Bihari temple, said that "Lord Krishna has his way of teaching people", citing the story of Lord Krishna humbling Devraj Indra's pride.
"Hema ji should keep this in mind while asking us to leave Brijbhoomi," he had said.
Another priest Rasik Bihari Goswami had expressed dismay at the BJP MP's reported remark.
"She never came to speak to those who are affected by the plan to build the Bankey Bihari corridor, but so arrogantly asking us to leave," he remarked. "They want to build the corridor for the benefit of certain affluent people." Local businessman Anil Gautam had also voiced his disappointment. "We elected her thrice from Mathura with the hope that she would work for the benefit of the people of the city, and now she is asking us to leave." Hema Malini's reported remark also drew criticism from a party leader.
Madhu Sharma, former Mathura district president of the BJP, on Saturday said, "We don't expect this kind of statement from our Member of Parliament." She asserted the deep roots of the local populace, saying, "The one who has come from outside has to leave... We are Brijwasi. We were born here and will die here." Sharma also questioned Hema Malini's priorities, suggesting that if similar urgency had been shown for the city's other problems, Vrindavan would have become a smart city by now.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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