Vishal Dadlani quits AAP, apologises to Jain community

AFTER BEING chided for his comments on Jain religious leader Tarun Sagar, music director and Aam Aadmi Party’s star campaigner Vishal Dadlani “quit all active political work/affiliation” late Saturday evening. In a slew of tweets, Dadlani apologised for “hurting” the sentiments of the Jain community and his friends Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and minister Satyendar Jain, but maintained that he believed “mixing religion and governance is a serious problem”.

While Dadlani’s departure is likely to hit the AAP hard, BJP Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta stepped up his attack on the AAP government, alleging that the same Jain religious leader was invited to a session of the Delhi Assembly earlier this year, which was later cancelled. Questioning the AAP’S “doublespeak”, Gupta tweeted on Sunday evening, “Why did AAP government cancel the programme of Sh. Tarun Sagar jee on March 15, 2016 in Delhi Legislative Assembly? Double Speak?”

Meanwhile in a slew of tweets, Dadlani explained that he was not asked to leave the party but did it on his own volition. “It feel(s) bad that I hurt my Jain friends and my friends Arvind Kejriwal and Satyendar Jain. I hereby quit all active political work/affiliation,” he wrote.

“I apologize again, to the Jain Community and all others offended. But I beg you all not to support religion in governance, for India’s sake...” he added.

Senior AAP leaders maintained that Dadlani’s departure from the party will be a serious loss and there will be talks with the musician to rethink his decision. AAP national spokesperson Sanjay Singh told The Indian Express, “We all love and respect Dadlani and he is a great friend. We will speak to him about his decision. “Dadlani could not be reached for comment.

VISHAL DADLANI