India’s far right party Shiv Sena called earlier today for the cancellation of Pakistani ghazal singer Ustad Ghulam Ali’s upcoming concert in Mumbai.
“We are against any form of cultural association with Pakistan. We cannot have ties with a country that kills our soldiers. They are against us why should we let their singers perform here,” said Akshay Badrapurkar, general secretary of Shiv Sena’s umbrella organisation Chitrapat Sena, according to NDTV.
Badrapurkar warned the organisers to cancel the music concert which is scheduled to take place on Friday, October 9, at Shanmukhanand Hall in Matunga, Mumbai.
“Today we are requesting them (organisers) to cancel the programme but if they don’t then we will be forced to protest in our style,” he warned.
In April, Shiv Sena had forced the cancellation of a concert of another Pakistani singer, Atif Aslam, in Hardaspur.
Aslam was all set to perform in Pune, but changed his mind after Indian political party, Shiv Sena threatened to take action if the event took place.
The singer who has charmed his way into the hearts of Pakistanis and Indians had to cancel his event because of strong opposition from India’s far-right regional political party. “The neighbouring country is sending terrorists to India, blasting bombs, attacking our Parliament, then how do we welcome their artistes,” Chitrapat Sena (party’s cinema wing) leader Adesh Bandekar said.
Read : Music knows no Hindu-Muslim or India-Pakistan: Ustad Ghulam Ali
