Express News Service By

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali’s concerts in Kerala in mid-January will go ahead as planned, M A Baby MLA said on Monday.

He was reacting to a fresh demand by the Shiv Sena Kerala unit that that the programmes, planned in Thiruvananthapuram on January 15 and in Kozhikode on January 17, should be abandoned in the wake of the terror attacks on Pathankot airbase.

“The performances will go ahead as planned. Our desire is that the two nations should end the border conflicts and spend that money on eradicating hunger,” Baby, who represents the event’s organisers, Swaralaya, said.

The Kerala events will be Ali’s first in India after he had to abandon his Mumbai concerts following Shiv Sena protests. According to the latest schedule, Ali will attend a public reception in Thiruvananthapuram on January 14 and sing on January 15. This will be followed by a ghazal eve in Kozhikode two days later.

On Monday, Shiv Sena Kerala Rajya Pramukh M S Bhuvana Chandran said the performances should be cancelled as a mark of respect to Malayali officer Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan Kumar and other Indian soldiers who died in the attack at Pathankot. “It is the time for mourning, and not for organising celebrations,” Bhuvanachandran said.

“M A Baby and the CPM should stand with the people taking into consideration the interests of the nation. Instead of trying to create the impression that intolerance is on the rise in the country, the CPM and Baby should take a stern stand against terrorism,” Bhuvanachandran added.