Kerala: Police probe sought over parody song circulated during local body polls

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 17 (PTI) The state police chief has received a complaint alleging that a parody song titled 'Pottiye Kettiye', which circulated during the recent local body elections in Kerala, "hurt religious sentiments", sources said on Wednesday.

The parody, based on a popular devotional song dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, makes references to the Sabarimala gold loss case and the alleged role of the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, they said.

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 added.

The complaint was filed by an office-bearer of Thiruvabharanapatha Samrakshana Samiti, a religious organisation based in Pandalam in Pathanamthitta district.

The parody song, allegedly used by the UDF and the BJP during their election campaigns, has also stirred political controversy in the state, with the ruling CPI(M) reportedly considering lodging a complaint with the election authorities.

LDF convener T P Ramakrishnan told reporters in New Delhi that if the song hurt religious beliefs and sentiments, action should be taken.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said elections could not be won through songs. He said there have been numerous songs targeting political leaders such as Sonia Gandhi, Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, none of which affected election outcomes.

Venugopal alleged that the Left was viewing even a song through a communal lens and said that instead of analysing the reasons for its defeat in the local body polls, the LDF was targeting youngsters who created the parody.

Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan said a parody of the same devotional song had been used by the CPI(M) 11 years ago to mock then chief minister K Karunakaran’s travel 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," he said.

Satheesan added that "the BJP is much better than this." Danish, a Malappuram native who sang the viral parody song, told a television channel that he was unaware of the legal aspects, but said those who commissioned the song would not have done so if there was anything illegal.

He said he did not believe the song hurt religious sentiments and claimed that devotees had not been offended, citing 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, along with his associates. PTI HMP SSK