Mumbai: The cancellation of Pakistani ghazal singer Ustad Ghulam Ali’s concert in Mumbai due to threats from the Shiv Sena and the failure of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to save the show has created yet another controversy.

Questions are being asked as to whether the BJP-led government, of which the Shiv Sena is an ally, was not competent enough to convince the organisers to get on with the show by providing adequate security. Fadnavis did say that this was a cultural show and “when permission has been already taken for the concert, it is not right to oppose it”.

In the past, the Sena’s threats have been taken seriously due to the fear of violent repercussion and even during the Sena-BJP rule in the nineties, the late Sena chief Bal Thackeray held the remote control of the then government. Now, questions are being raised as to whether the current government’s remote control is also in Matoshree — the Thackeray household in Bandra — and Uddhav calls the shots.

His son Aditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena’s chairperson, defended the cancellation of Ghulam Ali’s concert in Mumbai and Pune and said, “We cannot sit and enjoy music in Mumbai, while soldiers are being martyred in Kashmir. There has to be some sort of boycott.” Whilst BJP has not approved of the cancellation, he added, “It is up to the moral conscience of every politician.”

On Wednesday evening, the organisers of Ghulam Ali’s concert, Panache Media, agreed to cancel the show after a meeting with Uddhav in the evening at his residence. The shows were to be held on October 9 and 10 in Mumbai and Pune respectively.

Ghulam Ali, who is in Delhi, told TV news channel that he was “hurt but not angry. I always got love in India. The concert was a tribute to Jagjit Singh. He was like a brother to me.”

The Delhi government on Thursday invited Ghulam Ali to perform in India’s national capital after his concert in Mumbai was cancelled due to Shiv Sena protests, saying “music has no boundaries”.

Delhi Culture Minister Kapil Mishra said the Pakistani singer is welcome to come to Delhi for holding a performance.

Meanwhile, Preeti Sharma Menon, national spokesperson of Aam Aadmi Party remarked, “All of us have seen photographs of the Thackeray family with Pakistani cricketers. What is even more ironic is that on September 20, 2015, Aditya Thackeray spoke at an event at Taj Land’s End in Mumbai where Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan performed. And today, less than 20 days later he gives statements that there can be no cultural ties with Pakistan.”

Menon also said the AAP believes that this act of Shiv Sena has shown that Fadnavis is incapable of leading a state. “Why did the organisers of the show visit Uddhav Thackeray? Who is the chief minister of this state — Fadnavis or Thackeray? If the chief minister of Maharashtra does not have the courage and the wherewithal to ensure a peaceful concert, how will he ensure safety for the citizens? How will he promise safety for international businesses which he is allegedly wooing?”

The AAP also said Mumbai was home to Bollywood and the capital of performing arts in India. The ruling BJP-Sena government has put an unforgivable blot on the all-inclusive character of the city by not allowing Ghulam Ali to perform here.