Minister invites Ghulam Ali to perform in Delhi

Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra on Thursday invited renowned Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali to perform in Delhi after he cancelled his Mumbai concert following threats from the Shiv Sena.

"Sad that Ghulam Ali is not being allowed in Mumbai. I invite him to come to Delhi and do the concert. Music has no boundaries," Mishra tweeted.

The 75-year-old singer was scheduled to perform in Mumbai and Pune this week as part of the death anniversary tribute to late singer Jagjit Singh. But the show in Mumbai was called off on Wednesday after Shiv Sena threatened to disrupt his live concert.

Ali told a news channel that he was "disappointed as people who were interested in the concert were disappointed" and also because it was was a tribute to Jagjit Singh, who was like a brother to him.

"This should not be seen as India-Pakistan issue. Rather it is a symbol of love and affection," he said.

Maharastra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also expressed his disappointment over the cancellation. He said his government was ready to provide proper security to Ali for the concert.

However, the Shiv Sena defended its stand on the issue and said that people can't have fun specially when innocents are being killed on border on the India-Pakistan border.

"We have encounters going on everywhere, so many ceasefire violations. When this is happening we can't be having fun here...," Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thakre told reporters in Mumbai.