Maninder Buttar says he's shocked, hurt by Uttarakhand minister's claim of being beaten up; tells him to release 2019 show recording

Maninder Buttar says he was hurt by Uttarakhand minister Subodh Uniyal’s claim that he was beaten during a 2019 performance.

Last week, Uniyal publicly reprimanded veteran singer Daler Mehndi during a cultural event and accused him of performing under the influence of alcohol. While addressing Daler, the minister also referred to Maninder Buttar’s earlier visit to Uttarakhand, claiming that he had been beaten up there. Maninder has now responded to the Uttarakhand minister’s claim, saying he was deeply hurt by the remarks. The singer has also asked the minister to release the complete recording of his 2019 performance so that people can see what happened.

Maninder Buttar reacts to Subodh Uniyal's claims of being beaten up at event in Uttarakhand.

Maninder Buttar reacts to Subodh Uniyal's claims

During an Instagram Live session on Monday, Maninder addressed the controversy. He recalled that his first song became popular in 2018, after which he began receiving offers to perform at events. He said he performed in Uttarakhand in 2019, years before Daler’s recent appearance. Recounting the experience, the singer said in Punjabi, “I performed for 1.5 hours, and an Honourable minister came to the stage, gave me a Pahadi cap, and I performed the rest of the show in that cap. I was told that it was the first time a young artist was performing, and so 6000-7000 people are here.”

Maninder said the show went well and that he could not understand why the minister had made such remarks. He requested that the complete recording be made public, saying, “I want the truth to come out. I respectfully request the Honble Minister to upload the complete recording of that show so that everyone can see what actually happened and judge for themselves if I did anything wrong. I have done shows in Himachal and pan-India but never hurt anyone so far. Neither did I ever sang anything wrong, the whole industry knows.”

Calling the minister a father figure, Maninder said he was shocked by the remarks. He added, “Such words don't look nice from you. I am a very simple person. I was genuinely shocked when I came to know that such things had been said about me and my father that too on camera. I am a small artist, and I have always tried to keep my family away from controversies like these. I have never performed under the influence of alcohol or any intoxicating substance, and I have always taken my work and my responsibilities seriously. All I ask is for the complete, unedited recording of that show to be made public. Let people watch it, understand what really happened, and decide for themselves who is right and who is wrong.” The singer also expressed shock at the way Daler was treated on stage.

What did Subodh Uniyal say?

The controversy erupted after a video of Daler Mehndi’s performance at the Siddhpeeth Maa Kunjapuri Tourism and Development Fair in New Tehri, Uttarakhand, surfaced online. During the event, Uniyal interrupted the singer and questioned his performance, allegedly accusing him of being under the influence of alcohol and lip-syncing to a pre-recorded track.

While addressing Daler, the minister referred to Maninder’s earlier visit to the state and said, “Yahaan aapse pehle Maninder Buttar pit ke gaya tha... aur itna pita tha ki uska baap bhi dobara nahi aa sakta yahaan pe” (Before you, Maninder Buttar was beaten up here… and he was beaten so badly that even his father wouldn’t dare come here again).

Singer Mika Singh also criticised the minister’s remarks as rude and disrespectful, saying artists deserved dignity and should not be humiliated on a public platform. He demanded an apology from Uniyal for allegedly humiliating Daler. The minister, however, defended his actions, saying the singer should have informed the organisers in advance if he was unwell.