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An event was organised in Patna to commemorate the life of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth anniversary, during which the incident took place.
Folk singer Devi (Photo: Facebook/Devi singer)
A function in Bihar’s Patna to commemorate the life of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee saw protests by the audience as folk singer Devi sang the lines “Ishwar Allah tero naam” as part of her rendition of Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram.
The protests led to disruption in the event as the singer stopped the bhajan, which has been associated with Mahatma Gandhi, drawing a sharp reaction from senior BJP leader and former union minister in the Vajpayee administration Shahnawaz Hussain who called the development “the height of intolerance”, The Indian Express reported.
The singer had to apologise publicly at the event.
The event ‘Main Atal Rahunga’ was organised at the Bapu Sabhagar auditorium in the city by former union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey along with the NGO Dinker Shodh Sansthan. It was meant to provide a platform to recall the contributions of Vajpayee on his birth anniversary.
Choubey, who had served as the minister in the Vajpayee government, said that the incident “should not have happened”.
Folk Singer Details Incident
Devi said that the organisers of the event had asked her to sing a bhajan and she thought it “befitting to sing Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite bhajan” at the event, The Indian Express reported.
She said that everything was smooth at the beginning of the bhajan, however, when she sang the stanza “Ishwar Allah tero naam“, a section of the audience protested, forcing her to stop the song.
She further said that Choubey intervened and pacified the crowd.
Shahnawaz Hussain Reacts
Hussain, who was the youngest Cabinet minister in the Vajpayee government, said, “I had quoted Atal ji during my address. He used to say, ‘Nothing is better than a small heart (no one makes it big with a small heart)’. The protest of the bhajan is the height of intolerance. I felt too embarrassed and ashamed”.
Choubey also condemned the incident and said that what happened should not have happened.
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