JULY 4- Rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh wants a censor board for music in India.
The controversial artiste, who was booked by the Punjab Police in May for performing songs with misogynist lyrics in public, on Wednesday made a case for a music watchdog in his written statement to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Singh has also alleged that the song Main Hoon Balatkari (I am a rapist), attributed to him, has actually been sung by an imposter. ” I have no connection with this Honey Singh (the singer of the song in question),” Singh claimed in the statement submitted to the high court’s registry branch.
He said he had faced harassment because of the FIR against him, and was, as a result, not able to concentrate on his work. The charges against him are a case of ” mistaken identity,” he added.
He said the song has been available on videohosting portal YouTube since February 2008, and has not been removed complaints.
Singh claimed that he had approached YouTube in May and August 2012 as well as January 2013 to report the impersonation, but the website was ” reluctant” to resolve the issue.
The singer called for action against the website for hosting illegal content, and demanded that the ” fake” Honey Singh be identified and prosecuted.
Singh was booked on a complaint filed by Parvinder Singh Kittna, general secretary of NGO, Human Empowerment League of Punjab ( HELP). Several other singers such as Diljit Dosanjh and Ashok Masti, among others, were also named in the complaint.
The PIL will come up for hearing in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday.
INDIA TODAY
