A woman artiste was allegedly harassed at an event in Patna on Wednesday when she sang the popular bhajan 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram'. The Opposition shared a video of the incident and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members of creating a ruckus.
The incident took place during a gathering in Patna, Bihar, on the occasion of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth anniversary on Wednesday.
What happened at the event?
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief president Lalu Prasad Yadav alleged that folk singer Devi Mahatma Gandhi's bhajan, Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, Patit Pavan Sita Ram', sang in the auditorium built in his name and said “Sita Ram”.
“Then the petty BJP members apologized to her on microphone and made her sing Jai Shri Ram instead of Jai Sita Ram,” Yadav alleged, asking, “Why are these Sanghis insulting women, including Sita Mata?”
Yadav also shared the viral video of the incident, in which the singer apologizes to the unruly crowd, who got irritated when she sang the verse 'Ishwar Allah Tero Naam'. The video appeared edited, with some parts missing in between.
The Congress said the incident was “a proof of how much hatred the RSS-BJP people have for Gandhiji.” The party added: “People with Godse's ideology cannot respect Gandhiji. But they should not forget… This country will be governed by the ideology of Gandhiji, not by Godse.”
BJP says the furore was over...
Media reports claimed that the crowd objected to the phrase in the bhajan: 'Ishwar Allah teronaam'.
BJP sources told news agency PTI that the newspaper report shared by Lalu Yadav in a tweet clearly stated that the fuss was not about 'Sita Ram' but about the subsequent verse – 'Ishwar Allah Tero Naam'.
Although the bhajan is several centuries old, the above stanza is believed to have been an improvisation initiated by Mahatma Gandhi, in keeping with his quest for unity among Hindus and Muslims.
BJP sources claimed that party workers opposed “the recitation of a line that was not part of the original verse of 15th century poet Narsi Mehta, but was inserted later, apparently in line with Gandhi's Hindu-Muslim unity plank”.