Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya on Friday, in a series of shocking tweets, supported the ban of Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali from performing in Mumbai, saying that 'nation and patriotism' took priority over music and branded the maestro as a 'dengue artist'.
"These shameless people have no self respect, no work except terrorism. So called Hindu political parties jst shout 4 mileage bt never tk action agnst these Dengu Artists from terrorist country.These qawwals don't come here on their merit but due to paki Dalals #prestitute and @MaheshNBhatt," Abhijeet tweeted.
While the singer's remarks have sent shockwaves, he was fully backed by the Shiv Sena, who said that they 'welcome his statement as he speaks for the nation.'
Ghulam Ali to perform in Delhi in December
Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali, whose concert in Mumbai this week was cancelled following threats from the Shiv Sena, will now regale his Indian fans at a show here in December.
The news was confirmed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
"Ghulam Ali Sahib. Hum apke bahut bade fan hain (I'm a huge fan of yours). Abhi apse baat karke bahut acha laga (I felt really good to talk to you). Thanks for agreeing to do a program in Delhi in December," Kejriwal posted on his Twitter page on Friday.
Delhi's ruling AAP on Thursday had invited the noted singer to perform here after he cancelled his Mumbai concert.
The 75-year-old was scheduled to perform in Mumbai and Pune this week as part of the death anniversary tribute to singer Jagjit Singh. But the show in Mumbai was called off on Wednesday after the Shiv Sena threat.
Ghulam Ali made an entry in Indian cinema with his popular song "Chupke chupke raat din" for B.R. Chopra's "Nikaah". He has legions of fans across the world, and was "hurt" when his concert in Mumbai had to be cancelled as he shared that he aims at spreading the message of love and peace through his music.
