A controversy erupted after non-Hindus and Muslims were asked to leave a high-end garba event in Ahmedabad amid ongoing Navratri festival, prompting popular Gujarati folk singer Aditya Gadhvi, linked to the programme, to distance himself from the announcement, saying it was not his message.
A video of the announcement has gone viral on social media, showing anchor-RJ Akash Trivedi on Wednesday asking non-Hindus and Muslims to leave the venue from the stage of the 'Rang Morla ft. Aditya Gadhvi' event organised at Savvana Party Plot on the city's Shela Road.
Gadhvi was performing at the event.
"A humble request to any 'vidharmi' (non-Hindus) and Muslims to leave the ground. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has come here to protect Sanatan Dharma," Trivedi is heard saying in the video.
He also announced a helpline number, 8735873595, for reporting such people.
"The VHP wants you (garba participants) to look around and report suspicious people to the helpline number," the RJ added.
Gujarat VHP spokesperson Hitendrasinh Rajput defended the announcement, saying it was part of a routine exercise carried out by Bajrang Dal volunteers at garba (traditional folk dance from Gujarat) events in the state.
"Usually, Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the VHP, visits garba events in Ahmedabad and meets the organisers, asking them to prevent non-Hindus from entering the venue. Sometimes, they also apply tilak on the foreheads of men attending the events and remove suspicious people from the ground," Rajput told PTI.
On Wednesday, Bajrang Dal volunteers visited the 'Rang Morla' event in Ahmedabad and requested the organisers to prevent non-Hindus from entering the venue, he said.
The organisers subsequently made the announcement from the stage, Rajput added.
Following criticism from several social media users, Gadhvi, a well-known singer of folk songs in Gujarat, issued a statement on Instagram, distancing himself from the announcement.
Interestingly, Trivedi, who made the controversial announcement, also accepted the collaborative post of Gadhvi on Instagram, apparently showing his agreement with the singer's comments.
"A few words from me, because a lot is being said in my name. I am an artist. I am a proud Hindu. Navratri is the most sacred time of my year, and standing on a stage singing for Maa Ambe in front of thousands of people dancing garba is the greatest blessing of my life," Gadhvi said in the statement.
"What happened at the event was not my doing, and it was not my message. A group of people took over the backstage and used my platform to do something I would never do. My team and the anchor were not consulted and we were not involved in any capacity," he added.
Garba (devotional folk dance performed in honour of Goddess Durga) has never asked anyone for their surname. For generations, people of every faith in Gujarat and across India have played garba side by side, and that is what makes it ours, the statement said.
"Anyone who comes to a garba with love and respect for Maa (Durga) is welcome in my circle. That is not politics. That is just how I was raised. My stage is for music and for devotion. Jai Ambe," Gadhvi added.