Street dancer heckled for singing ‘Allah ke bande' at Tripura temple, CPI(M) seeks action
AGARTALA: A street dancer was allegedly heckled for singing Kailash Kher's 'Allah ke bande' at the famous Tripurasundari temple in Tripura's Gomati district, sparking political outrage.
The opposition CPI(M) on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, demanding swift action from the state government and accusing it of fostering an atmosphere of intolerance.
The video of the incident that went viral on social media on Sunday shows the street dancer, Shanu Malakar, is purportedly being threatened by another person (not seen in the video) and questioned him for his choice of song on the temple premises, saying that praise of Allah could not be done at a temple.
In the video, Malakar is seen replying that he does street dance performances to raise funds for donations to the poor.
In reference to the video, CPIM politburo member and leader of opposition Jitendra Chaudhury said, 'A youth, Sanu Malakar, a local singer who also earns money through his street dance performances and displaying physical acrobatics, was seen, in a social media video, singing the song which is devotional as well to appeal for humanity. A person threatened him in front of a huge gathering and questioned him why he uttered Allah. I appeal to the state government and the police to step in at the earliest.'
He further said that the person who threatened Malakar did so by declaring that this is 'Hindustan", claiming that those who worship Allah or follow that faith are 'jihadis", and asserting that such songs have no place on Indian soil.
Asserting that every Indian has constitutionally approved right to express their opinions through devotional songs of any religion, be it Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Buddhist, Chaudhury said the state government and police didn't take any action against the perpetrators till now.
'We often see that several people were arrested with different charges after the Pahalgam terror attack, and harassing them for 10-12 days... Why has no arrest been made here?' Chaudhury asked.
Reacting to the incident, BJP state spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said, 'It's natural that neither Azaan can be performed in temples nor Durga Puja can be performed in mosques.'
A senior police officer stated, 'We have seen the video as well, but so far, no one has come forward to lodge a complaint.'
Last year, the Gomati district magistrate served a notice prohibiting shooting of any such dance, music videos, reels and posting on social media after netizens raise objections against objectionable dance performances by social media influencers in Tripurasundari temple.
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