Sonu Nigam: When the singer courted controversy

Sonu Nigam has had his fair share of controversies in recent times, with his statements on the use of loudspeakers for Azaan. Now, it looks like he might have drawn the ire of a terrorist outfit for his comments. According to reports, Sonu is on the hit list of terrorist organization Lashkar-E-Taiba. Apparently, Maharashtra State Intelligence Department has advised Mumbai Police to notch up the security for the singer and two BJP leaders who might be the targets of the terrorist group.

Sonu could possibly be attacked or assassinated at any public event or promotional activity. As a result, Mumbai Police is considering beefing up security around the singer. Looks like the embers of the controversy surrounding his statements still refuse to die down.

Sonu Nigam rocked the headlines for his comments on the use of loudspeakers for azaan (Muslim prayers) earlier this year. The singer even shaved off his head in defiance of a 'fatwa' issued by Syed Sha Atef Ali Al Quaderi of the West Bengal Minority Council.

Now, the Bollywood singer reportedly said that back then he even mentioned about temples and gurudwaras but only comments on azaans were highlighted. He stated that religion was also added to the issue. According to the reports, he feels people in India don't try to understand the meaning of words and try to look into it deeply.

The 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' singer also reportedly added that Mohammed did not have electricity when he made Islam and that he doesn't believe in any temple or gurudwara using electricity to wake people up who don't follow the religion.

According to IANS, singer Sonu Nigam on Wednesday announced he will quit Twitter and has urged all "logical and sensible patriots" to do the same, following the suspension of singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya's micro-blogging account.

"I quit Twitter today in defiance of this one sided sham," Sonu Nigam tweeted.
He said: "One could disagree with Abhijeetda's language but isn't Shehla's accusation that BJP has a sex racket, provocation enough to supporters?"
"If his account is deleted, why not her? And the other morons who hurl... abuses to every achiever?" he asked.

Twitter on Tuesday suspended the account of Abhijeet over sexist and offensive remarks, which stirred up a storm online. In a series of tweets, Abhijeet abused some women users, particularly JNU student-activist Shehla Rashid, following which Twitter took the action.

When Shehla openly discussed about sex scandals involving BJP leaders, she was "abused by Abhijeet and hundreds of Sanghi trolls". In reply to her statement, Abhijeet had tweeted: "There is a rumour she took money in advance for two hours and didn't satisfy the client. Big racket."

Read this story in Marathi here

Sonu Nigam, who’s in the eye of the storm with his tweets on the use of loudspeakers for Azaans at mosques, offered to apologise if his recent controversial tweets were found to be 'anti-Muslim'. In a series of tweets clarifying his position, Nigam said: "For those who are tainting my tweets anti-Muslim, tell me one place where I have said anything related, and I'll apologise."

He claimed that when he spoke about loudspeakers, he had mentioned temples and gurudwaras too. Referring to a West Bengal cleric's 'fatwa' offering Rs.10 lakhs to shave off Nigam's head, the singer hit back: "Today at 2 p.m, Aalim will come to my place and shave my head. Keep your 10 lakhs ready Maulvi."

This afternoon, the singer is likely to address the media and clarify his position on the tweets which ended up in a controversy.

Accomplished singer Sonu Nigam has tasted tremendous success as the voice behind many of Bollywood’s biggest superstars. The singer-actor has also managed to make headlines with his words when he’s not just singing. The most recent case being this morning when Sonu landed in trouble with his tweets complaining about the morning Azaan from a mosque presumably near his house. The singer was so displeased by the sound of Azaan that he termed it as “forced religiousness”. Sonu then went on a Twitter rant as he put out a series of tweets on the subject and was consequently slammed by many for his comments. Here’s taking a look at instances when Sonu made headlines.

Amidst allegations of dowry harassment, self-styled godwoman Radhe Maa received support from the singer. Sonu, in a series of tweets, had compared the religious leader to a Hindu goddess. Sonu tweeted, “Just my 2 pence. Kaali Maa is depicted in lesser clothes than Radhe Maa. Interesting that this country wants to sue a woman for her clothes”. The tweets drew the ire of Twitterati and even ended up in multiple police complaints against him for allegedly ‘hurting religious statements of a section of people’. Sonu later took to Facebook to clarify his stand.

In November 2015, Sonu Nigam tweeted, “Everyone has the right to an opinion, except a celebrity. And that’s not my opinion by the way, because I'm not supposed to have one. Paradox.” His comment came at a time when actor-producer Aamir Khan’s statement on intolerance in India ended up getting widespread criticism. Sonu’s remarks elicited mixed reactions.

Sonu Nigam found himself in the eye of the storm when a video of him singing on a flight mid-air using the aircraft’s address system went viral. A debate sparked off after the aviation safety regulator asked the airline to suspend the airhostesses on-board. The in-flight concert took place during a chartered flight from Jodhpur to Mumbai in the first week of January 2017. Sonu was extremely upset about the brouhaha and defended his stance saying, “This lack of common sense is real intolerance for me. I have witnessed an elaborate fashion show in an aircraft. I also know of concerts happening inside planes. I have seen pilots and crew members cracking jokes to loosen up passengers in other countries, which is so cool. To suspend crew members for asking me to sing on the address system, when the seat belt signs were off, and no announcements were to be made, is nothing less than punishing someone for spreading happiness.”

After a tussle with a leading music company, Sonu Nigam hastily announced his retirement that left his ardent fans shocked. He also expressed his displeasure over some contractual issues. Sonu did not stop at just this but requested people to take up the issue and support his cause. He tweeted a dozen times on December 13, 2013 in what seemed to be a major issue with a contract he had signed with the music company for his films. However, Sonu and the music company in question went on to make their peace in 2015.