Amid backlash, Zomato withdraws Hrithik Roshan-starrer 'Mahakal' advt, expresses apology
Bhopal, Aug 21: Amid a row, online food delivery firm Zomato has withdrawn the advertisement featuring actor Hrithik Roshan and apologised clarifying the Mahakal reference was for a restaurant and not the temple.
Priests of the famous Mahakaleshwar temple in Madhya Pradesh had objected to the advertisement claiming that it offended Hindu sentiments and demanded its withdrawal.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra had issued directives to the police to look into the controversy.
In the advertisement, Roshan says he felt like having a "thali" (food platter) in Ujjain so he ordered it from "Mahakal".
"The Hrithik Roshan starrer ad that ran in specific pin-codes of Ujjain referenced to 'thalis' at 'Mahakal Restaurant and not the revered Shree Mahakaleshwar temple. Mahakal Restaurant is one of our high-order-volume restaurant partners in Ujjain and thali is a recommended item on its menu, Zomato said in a statement issued on its Twitter handle.
The food delivery firm said that the video is part of the pan-India campaign for which Mahakal Restaurant (simplified as Mahakal) was chosen in Ujjain.
We deeply respect the sentiments of the people of Ujjain and the ad in question is no longer running. We offer our sincerest apologies, for the intent here was never to hurt anyone's beliefs and sentiments, Zomato added.
Hey, we have something to share - pic.twitter.com/gmPgiGYwGp
— zomato care (@zomatocare) August 21, 2022
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Expelled Cong MLA Mamkootathil gets bail in sexual assault case
Pathanamthitta(Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday granted bail to expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in the third sexual assault case against him, in which he was arrested earlier this month.
The bail was granted by the Pathanamthitta District Sessions Court, which was considering an appeal filed by the MLA against a judicial magistrate's court that had denied him relief, stating that the allegations against him were serious and that he had "similar antecedents".
The third sexual assault case was registered against the Palakkad MLA under Sections 376 (rape) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following a complaint lodged by a woman from Kottayam district on 8 January. He was arrested in the case on January 11 in Palakkad.
The Kerala High Court and a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram had earlier protected the MLA from arrest in the first two sexual assault cases, which were registered based on complaints from two different women.
