Union minister of state Giriraj Singh on Sunday lashed out at film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, asking if anyone would dare to make a movie on Prophet Mohammed.

Union minister of state Giriraj Singh on Sunday lashed out at film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, asking if anyone would dare to make a movie on Prophet Mohammed. Since the release of the movie, several political leaders have voiced their opinion on the film and the strident protests against it.

Jab Rajasthan me #Padmaavat ki shooting ho rhi thi tab Bhansali ne kyon nahi ise band kiya.Gandhi ji par film bane or unko katthak or bhangra mein dikhaye to main maaf nahi karunga.Kya himmat hai kisi ko ki Mohd. Saheb par film banake unka charitra dikhaye:Union Min Giriraj Singh pic.twitter.com/WVSYkYmgva — ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2018

On Saturday, senior RSS leader Krishna Gopal said that 'jauhar', an ancient practice of mass self-immolation by Rajput women to avoid being captured by foreign invaders, was a form of resistance and not a "discriminatory" practice against women, PTI reported. At a seminar on 'stree-shakti, or women empowerment, at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi, Gopal said the practice was "a part of the tradition of jauhar-shakha in which women offered the supreme sacrifice than be conquered by victorious armies to be a part of their large harems".

On 25 January, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh remarked that "films that hurt the sentiments of people of a particular religion or caste and which are not based on historical facts should not be made." Singh's comments came after he was asked about the controversy over the film "Padmaavat", which was released the same day.

In November, Haryana BJP leader Suraj Pal Amu offered a bounty of Rs 10 crore bounty for anyone who would behead Bhansali and actor Deepika Padukone. “If someone insults our ancestors and our history, we will not tolerate that,” he had said.

With inputs from agencies