PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) has opposed Haryanvi singer Masoom Sharma’s performance at the Uttarakhand Premier League (UPL) final in Dehradun on October 1 and threatened to stage a protest outside the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Raipur area.
The UKD Mahanagar chief Prabeen Chand Ramola said that Sharma should not have been invited to perform at a major event in Uttarakhand. He said a controversy had emerged after Sharma made abusive and objectionable remarks during an event at DAV PG College in April.
He warned that if the programme was not cancelled, UKD workers would stage a protest outside the cricket stadium on Thursday. The party would also burn effigies of the Uttarakhand Cricket Association and the government, he said.
The Dalanwala police had registered a case in connection with the incident and issued a notice to the singer, according to the UKD. Ramola said inviting Sharma again to a major platform in Uttarakhand was unfortunate.
The UKD said that the state has several local singers and folk artists who could have been given an opportunity to perform at the event. Ramola said that promoting local artists and Uttarakhand’s folk culture should be a priority for the government and organisers.
The party also alleged that some of Sharma’s songs promote violence, gun culture and hooliganism. It said that such content should not be promoted at a major sporting event in the state.
Ramola demanded that Sharma’s programme be cancelled and that local artistes be given the opportunity to perform instead.
