Non-Hindus will have to submit an affidavit swearing faith to 'Sanatan' before they can pray at Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines, said Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) chairman Hemant Dwivedi.
The BKTC committee oversees major Himalayan shrines, including Badrinath Temple and Kedarnath Temple, which witness lakhs of pilgrims every year during the Char Dham Yatra, which begins next month.
During a meeting of the committee's board on March 10, a proposal to prohibit the entry of non-Sanatanis into the temple complexes and garbhagrihas (sanctum sanctorums) of Badrinath and Kedarnath was unanimously approved.
"If Sara Ali Khan expresses her devotion towards Sanatan Dharma and submits an affidavit, we will allow her to offer prayers," Hemant Dwivedi said, when asked if the actor, daughter of Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh, would be allowed to pray at the shrine.
The actor made her Bollywood debut with Kedarnath in 2017.
Dwivedi further informed that the BKTC has already drafted a standardised format for this affidavit.
Today, the issue has taken a political colour, with parties asking where can one get a 'Sanatan' certificate.
"My question is, what does 'Sanatan' mean, and where can one get a certificate for being Sanatan? There are so many Hindus who are not Sanatanis," asked Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant.
Samajwadi Party MLA Ashutosh Verma stressed that the Hindu religion and Hindutva are meant to bring people together.
"Whoever is involved in such things neither understands the true meaning of the Hindu religion nor 'Hindutva'," MLA Verma told reporters.
Another Samajwadi Party leader, MP Ramji Lal Suman, pointed out that the number of Hindus visiting Ajmer Sharif Dargah far exceeds the Muslims visiting the shrine.
''She has been going there even before. Now, what is the need for an affidavit? Some people go to temples, some go to mosques, it is their faith. You know that there are dargah in our country. The number of Hindu who go to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah is much more than that of Muslims,'' said Ramji Lal Suman.
Congress' Husain Dalwai said Hinduism and Sanatan are not related.
"People do not know that Sanatan Dharma and Hinduism are not related. Sanatan Dharma means a religion that believes in the caste system... Why does Sara Ali Khan even want to go there? And now they are demanding an affidavit," asked the Congress leader.
However, the BJP defended the decision of the Temple Committee.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut said, "Everyone here is 'Sanatani'. 'Sanatan' has no beginning and no end. All religions are 1000-1500 years old. 'Sanatan' is the ultimate truth. She is also 'Sanatani'. What is the problem for her to give an affidavit?"
Bihar BJP President Sanjay Saraogi told news agency IANS, "Kedarnath, Badrinath, are pilgrimage sites for those who follow the 'Sanatan' religion, and if we are visiting those places of worship, we should have belief in the Hindu religion. "
He added that these are not just tourist places, but for those who fully believe in the 'Sanatan' religion.
