Congress, MNS bat for Shah Rukh, want Wankhede ban lifted

After Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), MNS chief Raj Thackeray also said that actor and Kolkata Knight Riders co-owneru00a0Shah Rukh Khan should be allowed entry in the Wankhede stadium and that banning him was "childishness".

Mumbai Indians takes on Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede later in the day today.

During IPL 5 in 2012, Shah Rukh Khan was involved in a brawl withu00a0a security guard and MCA officials at Wankhede stadium (Pic - AFP)

"Whatever happened that time was wrong. The chapter is closed now. He should be allowed inside Wankhede stadium. He is not a terrorist," Raj told reporters today.

"Such childishness should be stopped and he should be allowed entry," he said.

Earlier today, MPCC had appealed to the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) to reconsider its ban on Khan.

Last year, during IPL, the actor behaved in an allegedly abusive manner with a security guard and MCA officials at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.u00a0

Following this, MCAu00a0banned Khan from Wankhede Stadium for 5 years.

Earlier in the day, State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant appealed to MCA to lift the five-year ban imposed on Khan from entering and viewing cricket matches in Wankhede.

In a letter to MCA president Ravi Sawant, Sachin said, "After (Khan) publicly apologised for his misconduct, we feel that it would be in the interest of sports if your esteemed organisation shows true sportsman spirit and allows entry."

Sachin added that it was not the question of Shah Rukh as an actor but of any citizen.