'Show the full video': Maninder Buttar replies after Uttarakhand minister says he was beaten up
PTC Web Desk: Punjabi singer Maninder Buttar has reacted sharply to Uttarakhand Cabinet minister Subodh Uniyal’s remark that he was beaten up during a show in the state. Buttar said he was hurt and shocked by the comment and asked the minister to release the complete, unedited video of his 2019 performance so that people can judge the truth for themselves.
What Buttar said
Speaking during an Instagram Live, Buttar described himself as a simple person and an artist. He recalled that he had performed for about an hour and a half at the 2019 event and that the minister himself came on stage and placed a traditional Pahadi cap on his head as a mark of respect. According to the singer, he wore that cap through the entire show.
Buttar said the programme went well and he could not understand why the minister chose to speak about him and his father in such a disrespectful way in front of cameras.
Referring to the minister as someone like a father figure, he said such words did not suit him. “I have performed all over the country, but I have never hurt anyone’s feelings or sung an inappropriate song,” Buttar said. He added that he has never performed under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicant. His only request, he said, was that the original recording be made public so people can decide who is right and who is wrong.
How the row started
The controversy began at the Kunjapuri Mela in New Tehri, where veteran singer Daler Mehndi was performing. Minister Subodh Uniyal interrupted the show and accused Mehndi of being intoxicated. While reprimanding him in front of the crowd, the minister reportedly said that Maninder Buttar had also been beaten up at the same venue before him, so badly that even his father could not come there again.
Mika Singh also reacts
Singer Mika Singh later condemned the minister’s behaviour. He said artists have their own self-respect and that humiliating them on a public stage does not suit the office of a minister. Mika Singh also demanded an apology from the minister.
The minister, meanwhile, has not backed down and continues to stand by his position.
- PTC NEWS
