Complaint seeks probe over parody song used in Kerala local body polls
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Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala state police chief has received a complaint seeking an investigation into a parody song circulated during the recent local body elections, alleging that it hurt religious sentiments, official sources said on Wednesday.
The song, titled ‘Pottiye Kettiye’, is a parody based on a popular devotional song dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. According to sources, the lyrics make references to the Sabarimala gold loss case and the alleged role of its prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty.
State Police Chief Ravada Chandrasekhar has forwarded the complaint to Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) H Venkatesh for necessary action, the sources said.
The complaint was filed by an office-bearer of the Thiruvabharanapatha Samrakshana Samiti, a religious organisation based in Pandalam in Pathanamthitta district.
The parody song, which was allegedly used by both the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during their election campaigns, has also triggered political controversy in the state. The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) is reportedly considering approaching the election authorities over the matter.
Left Democratic Front convener T P Ramakrishnan told reporters in New Delhi that action should be taken if the song had indeed hurt religious beliefs and sentiments.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said elections could not be won through songs. He pointed out that several songs targeting political leaders such as Sonia Gandhi, Narendra Modi, and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had circulated in the past without affecting election outcomes.
Venugopal accused the Left of viewing even a song through a communal lens and alleged that instead of analysing the reasons for its defeat in the local body elections, the LDF was targeting youngsters who created the parody.
Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan recalled that a parody of the same devotional song had been used by the CPI(M) 11 years ago to mock former chief minister K Karunakaran for travelling in his official vehicle.
“At that time, they were not concerned about hurting the religious sentiments of devotees. They are concerned now because the parody refers to the alleged theft of Lord Ayyappa’s gold,” Satheesan said, adding that “the BJP is much better than this.”
Danish, a native of Malappuram who sang the viral parody song, told a television channel that he was unaware of the legal implications. However, he said those who commissioned the song would not have done so if there was anything illegal.
Danish maintained that the song did not hurt religious sentiments and claimed that devotees had not been offended. He cited videos of pilgrims travelling to Sabarimala playing the song in their vehicles.
“Many pilgrims have told us they like the song. We have also received negative reactions. It has hurt only those who are accused,” he said, speaking along with his associates.
With PTI inputs