Anti-Left Spoof Song Over Sabarimala Gold Theft Is Viral, Complaint Filed

A complaint has been filed over the viral political spoof song 'Pootiye Kettiye', which gained popularity ahead of the local body elections in Kerala. The parody of the popular Ayyappa devotional track 'Pottiye Kettiye' was widely used as a campaign anthem by opposition parties, including the Congress and the BJP, during the recently concluded elections.

The spoof left a strong impact in view of the allegations that the gold smuggling at Sabarimala was carried out by the cadres of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The song's audience included even children and became a sought-after track for reel-makers on social media.

The lyrics portrayed the ruling dispensation as having allowed prime suspect Unnikrishnan Potti to climb the hill shrine and allegedly replace gold with copper. Soon after its release, the song became a rage across the state and eventually turned into a mass statement against the Left.

Read: From Temple To Actor's Home: Untold Story Of Sabarimala Gold Door's Journey

The song had far-reaching political consequences and is widely believed to have contributed to the drubbing of the CPI(M)-led LDF in the state. With the song gaining popularity, several politicians incorporated it into their election campaigns, with lines like "who stole Ayyappa's gold? It was the cadres" becoming a political statement.

The issue even reached Parliament, where a UDF MP sang the song during an ongoing session.

Prasad Kuzhikal, general secretary of the Thiruvabharanam Padha Samraksha Samithi, filed a complaint with the Director General of Police (DGP) on Tuesday, claiming that the spoof hurt the religious sentiments of Ayyappa devotees. The complaint alleged that a devotional song was distorted and misused for political gain.

Read: Gold Sold To Jeweller Recovered In Sabarimala Temple Theft Case

The DGP has forwarded the complaint to the ADGP with directions to assess whether there is scope for registering a case in the matter.

Meanwhile, CPM district secretary Raju Abraham said that the party would assess the impact of the election, irrespective of whether a complaint was received or not. State secretary MB Govindan also said a final assessment would be carried out to determine the factors that contributed to the party's defeat in the last elections.

Two prominent CPM leaders, A Padmakumar and N Vasu, who looked after the affairs at the Travancore Devaswom Board, are in SIT custody.