Pune-based lawyer Asam Sawde has sent a legal notice to singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya over a controversial statement made in a podcast. In this podcast, Abhijeet had called Mahatma Gandhi “father of Pakistan”.
According to Indian media, lawyer Asam Sawde has sent a notice to Abhijeet on behalf of his client Manish Deshpande, demanding an immediate apology from him.
The notice states that if the singer does not apologize, a complaint will be registered against him under sections 353 (public disorder) and 356 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
During the podcast, Abhijeet compared Mahatma Gandhi to composer RD Burman and said, “Mahatma Gandhi is not the father of India but of Pakistan. India existed before, Pakistan separated from India later. Gandhi has been mistakenly called the father of India.”
The lawyer highlighted Gandhiji’s services in the notice, saying that he worked tirelessly to promote Hindu-Muslim unity and brotherhood.
The lawyer added, “During the freedom movement, when there was talk of partition, Gandhiji had said, ‘India will be divided only by passing over my dead body. As long as I am alive, I will never accept partition.'”
This is not the first time that Abhijeet Bhattacharya has been in the news for his statements. Recently, he criticized British singer Dua Lipa, saying that she did not give credit to him while singing a song in Mumbai.
