Music director Vishal Dadlani has resigned from the Aam Admi Party and has quit politics after he was criticised by AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday for 'disrespecting' Jain monk Tarun Sagar.
After announcing that he was quitting politics on Saturday night, Dadlani posted a detailed statement in a series of tweets on Sunday.
"A lot is being said against AAP because I chose to quit. I just want to say, AAP is a family. Please keep faith in AK (Arvind Kejriwal) & the party (AAP). I made a mistake by offending the peaceful Jain community, and I felt the only way to truly apologise, was to renounce my ego," he said.
"Neither Arvind, nor anyone else, asked me to quit. I make my own decisions. I made a mistake, & I'm genuinely sorry. That's all. Never forget how hard AK & AAP have fought for all of us. AAP volunteers, stay strong & fight twice as hard. With you all, in spirit," Dadlani added.
He further said, "I apologise again, to the Jain Community, & all others offended. But I beg you all not to support religion in governance, for India's sake."
Responding to a twitter user, Vishal said, "I'm no leader, man. I'm just a guy with too many opinions. Learnt that India is safer when we all just wave & smile."
On Saturday, Vishal was ridiculed by social media users on Twitter after psoting against Tarun Sagar.
Reacting to Jain monk Tarun Sagar addressing Haryana assembly, Vishal had tweeted a sarcastic tweet which earned him the ire of twitterati.
And then this:
Soon after, Delhi minister Satyendar Jain tweeted an apology on behalf of Dadlani. “I apologise for hurting feelings of Jain community by my friend @VishalDadlani. I seek kshama from Muni Shri Tarun Sagar ji Maharaj,” he tweeted.
Minutes later, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote, “Tarun Sagar ji Maharaj is a very revered saint, not just for Jains but everyone. Those showing disrespect is unfortunate and should stop. I met Shri Tarun Sagar ji Maharaj last year. Our family regularly listens to his discourses on TV. We deeply respect him and his thoughts.”
This prompted Dadlani to issue an apology. “I apologise if I've upset Jain feelings. The intent was to ridicule the merger of religion & governance, and not any religion in particular,” he wrote on Twitter.
He posted a cropped out the sarcastic image.
The musician then was apologising to everyone tweeting to him but maintained that religion must not be mixed with the politics.
He concluded by saying that he was quitting “all active political work/affiliation.”
Jain monk and religious leader Tarun Sagar was invited to speak in Haryana assembly by education minister Ram Bilas Sharma. The monk, seated on a dais, above the seats of the governor, chief minister and MLAs, spoke for 40 minutes in the assembly.
The monk urged that this should be termed as saffronisation of politics. “Don't term it as saffronisation but as purification of politics. When religion enters politics, it brings purity. While it becomes a disaster when politics enters religion," he said.
His alleged misogynistic remark that it is the duty of every wife to accept the discipline of her husband irked many on social media including Vishal Dadlani.
“Rajniti par dharam ka ankush zaroori hai. Dharam pati hai, rajneeti patni. Har pati ki yeh duty hoti hai apni patni ko samrakshan de. Har patni ka dharam hota hai ki woh pati ke anushasan ko sweekar kare. Agar rajneeti par dharam ka ankush na ho toh woh magan-mast haathi ki tarah… ho jaati hai (The control of dharma over politics is essential. Dharma is the husband, politics is the wife. It is the duty of every husband to protect his wife. It is the duty of every wife to accept the discipline of her husband. If there is no control of dharma over politics, it will be like an elephant out of control),” the Indian Express quoted him saying.
