A New Year's Eve concert featuring actor Sunny Leone in Mathura was cancelled after strong objection from the priests in the city.
The programme, scheduled for 1 January at a private hotel in Mathura, was to mark New Year celebrations, for which all preparations had been completed.
Dinesh Falahari Maharaj, the main petitioner in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple case, has written a letter to the district magistrate, demanding a ban on the event. He stated, "We will not allow this holy city to be tarnished.Some people are conspiring to defame the city of Krishna."
The priest said that Leone is a former adult star and preparations were underway to showcase "vulgarity and obscenity" at the event.
"Mathura is a divine land. Our idol, Lord Krishna Kanhaiya, performed the Raas Leela in this land of Braj. Sanatanis from all over the world come here to perform puja, recitation, and bhajan. By organising such events, the organisers are trying to incite religious sentiments and tarnish the religious city. Therefore, this event should be canceled and action should be taken against the organisers. Saints have called this a deliberate conspiracy to destroy the culture of Braj," Falahari Maharaj wrote.
Hotel owner Mitul Pathak said Leone is known in India as an artist and that the event was planned as a DJ performance, not in any other capacity, reported The Times of India.
He added that all administrative and legal norms were being followed for the event. “Despite this, we decided to cancel the programme in view of social and religious sentiments,” TOI quoted him as saying.
According to the organisers, the DJ show was planned for a limited audience of 300 people, with ticketed entry. Four seating categories had been arranged for viewers, including hut, cabana, high terrace seating and couple standing.
Leone, in a promotional video, had said that she was coming there on January 1 as a DJ (disc jockey) to "kick-start" the New Year.
"I am super excited to tell you that I am coming to Mathura on 1st January as a DJ to kickstart the New Year with an unforgettable night," she said in the video.