Chandigarh: Following a backlash over his support to Hindi as a unifying language, a Punjabi singer has "given up his faith" in Sikhism. Singer KS Makhan made the announcement in a live video on Facebook from inside a gurdwara.

In an emotional message, he said harassment by some preachers over his Sikhi swaroop forced him to take the extreme step. He said if he can't benefit the religion, he had no right to harm its sanctity either.

Makhan further said the Sikh preachers had linked the language controversy with religion. “If I say anything, it is directly connected with my faith. Sikh preachers like Ranveer Sahib and Avtar Singh use objectionable language against me and this hurts." He said he was deeply hurt that he had to give up the five 'Ks' of Sikhism — Kesh, Kirpan, Kada, Kachha and Kangha.

Recently, he backed Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan’s support for Hindi as the national language. Following this, both the singers received flak from supporters and politicians opposing the move to promote Hindi as a unifying language.

Makhan had contested the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket from the Anandpur Sahib seat in Punjab. With 69,124 votes, he was at the fourth spot.

Earlier, he had served a jail term on charges of smuggling drug, besides running a racket in Canada. He was the lead actor in the movie ‘Jugni Hath Kise Na Auni’ based on drug network and black money.