Controversy erupts over bhajan at Vajpayee event

The BJP in Bihar on Thursday sparred with the opposition RJD-Congress combine over the heckling of a woman artiste singing popular bhajan “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram”.

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The opposition parties alleged the incident at a function held yesterday on the occasion of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary was reflective of the BJP’s “hatred for Mahatma Gandhi”.

The saffron party hit back, claiming that it suspected that “RJD workers” had entered the auditorium with the intent to cause disruption.

In a video of the incident that has gone viral on social media, the singer can be seen offering an apology to the unruly crowds who got agitated when she sang the stanza “Ishwar Allah Tero Naam”.

While the bhajan is several centuries old, the aforesaid stanza is believed to have been an improvisation at Mahatma Gandhi’s instance, in keeping with his push for unity among Hindus and Muslims.

In the video, the regret expressed by the singer seemed to have little effect on the crowds, and she is made to hand over the microphone to senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ashwini Choubey, who raises the slogan “Jai Shri Ram”.