Video Producer: Vishnu Gopinath
Video Editor: Pawan Kumar
"I am writing about what they are doing. I am not going to answer their questions. I will keep asking my questions," said Bhojpuri folk singer Neha Singh Rathore, known best for the song 'UP Mein Ka Ba,' hours after she was served a notice by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) police on 21 February for 'inciting hatred.'
Why is the song controversial?
The song 'UP Mein Ka Ba' came into the limelight during the assembly elections in UP last year. In the recent edition of the song, Rathore has mentioned the incident in Kanpur, in which a mother and daughter were allegedly killed in a fire during an anti-encroachment drive.
In the song, Neha says:
Baba ka darbaar ba, dhahat ghar baar ba
Mai beti ke aag me jhokat UP sarkar ba
Ka ba, UP me ka ba
What has Neha said?
In an exclusive interview with The Quint Hindi, Neha said, "I have written what this (Uttar Pradesh government) is doing. There are two people in the house and you are making bulldozers run over it. "Agar ye rangbaazi nahi hai, to kya hai?"
"I ask questions. I have asked a question. I will keep asking questions. They will have to give an answer to those questions. I won't answer their questions," the folk singer asserted.
Neha also said that the Uttar Pradesh Police from Kanpur Dehat station first served the notice to her father-in-law, who lives in Ambedkarnagar. Afterwards, when they were informed that Neha was in Delhi:
"My husband got a call from a woman. She introduced herself as a UPSC aspirant and asked to meet somewhere. We refused to meet. Then after 10 minutes, we get a call and we are told that the police from Kanpur Dehat has come and we were asked to receive the notice. We said if you had to serve a notice, why did you make us look like we are criminals?"
What happened in Kanpur?
On 13 February, in an anti-encroachment drive gone awry in Madauli village in Kanpur Dehat, the residents alleged that a makeshift hut was allegedly set on fire by officials of the revenue and the police department.
Pramila Dixit, 44, and her daughter Neha Dixit, 21, were charred to death after being "trapped" in the thatched hut, while Pramila's husband Krishan Gopal Dixit sustained burn injuries, his son Shivam told The Quint.
What has the UP Police said?
The Uttar Pradesh police has issued a notice to Rathore in direct relation to Ka Ba Season 2 in UP, saying that the song has "spread disharmony in the society."
In the notice, the police has asked the folk singer to confirm if she was indeed in the video of the song, and if the song was uploaded from her Twitter and YouTube channels. The police also asked her if the lyrics were written by her and if she is aware of the impact of the meaning drawn from the song on the society.
Giving information on the notice, an officer of Kanpur Dehat Police said, "There was a written and oral complaint in Thana Akbarpur that a video has been uploaded on social media by a woman named Neha Singh Rathore, causing disharmony and discrimination in the society."
"On the basis of the above complaint, a notice under 160 CrPC has been served on the said woman by Inspector-in-Charge Akbarpur. On receipt of the reply to the notice, advance legal action will be taken as per rules," the officer added.
On 21 February, Rathore shared a video on Twitter, in which police personnel can are seen inside her house, with her husband. She captioned the video, "UP Mein Ka Ba! Par Police ka Notice..!" and tagged the official handles of UP Police and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Who is Neha Singh Rathore?
Rathore was born in 1997 in Bihar's Kaimur district. In her social media profiles, the folk singer has written that she is “fighting to restore the honour of Bhojpuri songs."
She had shot to limelight during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections with her song UP Mein Ka Ba, which had talked about the government’s alleged mismanagement during COVID-19.
She also sang about the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat in which 141 people were killed in October last year. The song was titled Gujarat Mein Ka Ba. In her songs, she focuses on issues such as unemployment, corruption, dowry and politics.
Rathore had received a YouTube silver play button in 2021 after she crossed 100,000 subscribers. She currently has 8,68,000 followers on her YouTube page and enjoys a significant follower base on Twitter and Instagram too.
Rathore completed her studies from Kanpur University.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)