Shiv Sena Opposes Ghulam Ali’s Concert in Mumbai

And why not, Khurki asks? At a time when every day our soldiers are being killed at the border in Jammu and Kashmir and all other cross-border activities are lying suspended, why should we have a cultural exchange of music?

The Shiv Sena, which co-governs Maharashtra with the BJP, has raised objections to the Pakistani artiste’s performance. “We can’t have cultural ties with Pakistan when they kill our soldiers,” the Sena said today.

Ali is scheduled to perform at Mumbai’s Shanmukhanand Hall on Friday.

Members of the Sena’s cine wing, the Chitrapat Sena, met officials at the venue and urged them to cancel the event.

A Sena leader reportedly told officials that at a time when “Pakistan has targeted Indian soldiers, decapitated them and returned their headless bodies, India should not be enjoying cultural relations with them.”

Ghulam Ali, 74, who has also sung for a number of Indian films, held a concert earlier this year at the famous Sankat Mochan in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency.

Sources in the Sena said though the party is in a coalition with the BJP, it will not change its views on ties with Pakistan if it kept targeting India.

The party has earlier protested against singer Atif Aslam’s show and the Pakistan cricket team playing on Indian soil.

The Sena holds many of its events at the Shanmukhanand Hall. So far, the BJP has not reacted to the Sena’s threat to disrupt the Ghulam Ali show.

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