New Delhi: After Carnatic singer T.M. Krishna’s concert in Delhi was cancelled by one of its organisers – Airports Authority of India (AAI) – allegedly due to criticism from right-wing trolls, the state government has reached out to him, assuring that the event will be held.

According to Indian Express, the office of Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has contacted the singer and is working on a date for the concert.

Krishna will perform at the event — ‘Awam ki Awaz’ — hosted by the Delhi government at the Garden of Five Senses at 6.30 pm on Saturday, said a senior government official.

Sisodia said on Twitter, “No artist should ever be denied an opportunity to perform. I have invited @tmkrishna to perform on November 17 for the people of Delhi It’s important to maintain the dignity of the Art and Artists”.

Also read: Right-Wing Campaign Forces Airports Authority to Cancel T.M. Krishna’s Delhi Concert

The event – jointly organised by AAI and SPIC-MACAY and scheduled for November 17 – was to be part of a “Dance and Music in the Park” festival at Nehru Park in Chanakyapuri. However, late on Tuesday night, cultural body SPIC-MACAY was informed in an email that the concert had been called off because of “some exigencies of work”. Reportedly, the event was postponed by the AAI, allegedly due to right-wing criticism of the government body for inviting an ‘anti-India’ element.

AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra, however, denied the concert was cancelled due to the right-wing campaign against Krishna. “We have some issues. Some exigency has come up and we are not free that day. Whatever note we have given in the media, that is all, there is nothing more I want to say on this,” Mohapatra told the Indian Express.

Krishna has earlier been a target of Hindutva groups and right-wing trolls because of his views on secularism and caste prejudice in music.

It may be interesting to recall that in a similar case in 2015, when Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali’s Mumbai concert was called off in the fact of Shiva Sena threats, Mamata Banerjee had risen to the occasion.

Tweeting that “Music has no boundaries. Music is the rhythm of the heart,” Bengal chief minister offered to host the event in Kolkata.

Not just that, amid massive criticism from opposition, Banerjee even attended the Pakistani artists concert.

Ali’s concert in Mumbai was cancelled after Sena threatened to disrupt it warning that no artiste from Pakistan will be allowed to perform in the city till terror emanating from across the border is stopped.

(With PTI inputs)