Why is Canada-based singer Shubh facing backlash? Virat Kohli unfollows him, boAt withdraws support. Details here

As India-Canada tension flares over killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, popular Canadian Singer, Shubhneet Singh is facing backlash over his recent post showing support to the Khalistan movement through social media.

Shubhneet Singh, popularly known as Shubh, is set to perform at the Cruise Control 4.0 event in Mumbai from September 23-25. Some of his popular songs include ‘No Love’, ‘Cheques,’ ‘Offshore,’ ‘Elevated,’ ‘Baller’, 'We Rollin’ among others. 

Recently, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing BJYM removed posters of the upcoming event of Shubh in Mumbai.

Why is Shubh facing backlash?

The BJYM has alleged that Shubh supports the Khalistan movement through social media. The BHP youth wing claimed that Shubh had recently posted a distorted map of Bharat through a post on social media. BJYM President Tajinder Singh Tiwana said that "Shubh posted a map of India without Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab on his Instagram account, and another post in the form of a post-story under the name "Pray for Punjab." As per Hindustan Times report, the singer had shared the image when Punjab Police were searching Amritpal Singh who was arrested in April this year.

The youth wing has also submitted a memorandum to the Mumbai Police Commissioner demanding strict action against Shubh and cancellation of all his performances. "We have given a memorandum to the organizers and Mumbai police to cancel the program peacefully and if appropriate action is not taken, we will protest. Through the memorandum, we have demanded the registration of an FIR against rapper Shubh," the BJYM President said.

India-Canada News LIVE Updates:

Indian cricketers Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya unfollow Shubh

Virat Kohli who had once called Shubh his favourite artist has now unfollowed him from Instagram. Other cricketers including KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Suresh Raina has also followed suit.

boAT withdraws sponsorship of Shubh's India tour

Consumer electronics company boAt on Tuesday said it has decided to withdraw sponsorship of Canada-based Punjabi singer Shubh's upcoming tour to India over certain remarks he made earlier this year.

"At boAt, while our commitment to the incredible music community runs deep, we are first and foremost a true Indian brand. Therefore, when we became aware of the remarks made by artist Shubh earlier this year, we chose to withdraw our sponsorship from the tour," the company said in a post on social media platform X.

Bookmyshow faces backlash; cancels singer's India Tour

BookMyShow who was the sponsor of Punjabi- Canadian singer Shubhneet Singh's India tour, has cancelled the show after the ticket booking app faced a boycott call on social media for hosting a singer who is allegedly a Khalistani sympathiser.

Earlier in the day, ‘Uninstall BookMyShow’ was trending on X (Formerly Twitter) as the ticketing platform continued to sell his concert tickets. In a post on X, BookMyShow said it will do a complete refund of the tickets within 7-10 days.

"Singer Shubhneet Singh's Still Rollin Tour for India stands cancelled. To that end, BookMyShow has initiated a complete refund of the ticket amount for all consumers who had purchased tickets for the show. The refund will be reflected within 7-10 working days in the customer's source account of the original transaction," it said.

Here are some of the earlier social media reactions

Meanwhile, all this followed a diplomatic row between India and Canada that saw each expelling a senior diplomat. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged New Delhi's hand in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, in British Columbia in June this year. India quickly dismissed Canada's assertion as absurd. The row worsened the already poor relations between the two countries and thrown cold water on trade talks, which have been paused.

(With inputs from agencies)