Ghulam Ali to perform in Varanasi on April 26; Hindu Yuva Vahini protests

Popular musical event 'Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh' that is scheduled to be held starting April 26 will see the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Pandit Jasraj,Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Kavita Krishnamurti, Bhajan Sapori, Soma Ghosh, Anup Jalota amongst many others. But to grace the occasion, Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali has also been invited who has confirmed his presence as well. The event will take place at the popular 

Last year, several of his events organised in India were cancelled after major protests by Shiv Sena and Hindu Sena. 

Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh has been a tradition event for the last 93 years. Temple's priest Professor Vishwambharnath Mishra confirmed to the media that Ghulam Ali will be attending the event. Last year too, Ghulam Ali had performed at the musical event. 

Ghulam Ali will be seen participating in the event on day 1 after Pandit Vishwanath has initiated the event with his performance. 

However, Hindu Yuva Vahini has declared that they will protest Ghulam Ali's entry to the event. They have cited the 2006 Varanasi bombings that killed at least 28 people and left as many as 101 people injured. The first blast had occurred at the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple and the other one was at Varanasi Cantonment Railway Station.

Manish Pandey, Vice President, Hindu Yuva Vahini (Varanasi), has claimed that if Ghulam Ali enters Varanasi, he will be greeted with protests.