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Well-known singer Usha Uthup has countered social media claims that she celebrated Mamata Banerjee’s defeat in the elections by singing 'Didi, didi, didi go'.
An X user posted a video of a live concert, with the caption: “In celebration of Didi leaving Bengal, Usha Uthup had fun by singing ‘Didi Go.’ It should be remembered that during the TMC regime, cut money was allegedly demanded from her for her performances, due to which she became troubled and moved to Mumbai. Now she has returned”.
The post went viral across X, Instagram and WhatsApp, with users, unaware that the song was a Bengali recreation of a hit sung by the Algerian singer Khaled, suggesting that Usha Uthup was taking a dig at former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress lost the 2026 elections to the BJP. Mamata is popularly called 'Didi'.
The singer issued a clarification on Instagram and Facebook, calling the posts “incorrect and misleading”. She said: “I have been singing the song in question for more than 25 years”.
She also countered the claim that she had moved to Mumbai. “I have lived in Kolkata since 1976 and never left Kolkata since then and moved to Mumbai. Kolkata has always been my home," she said.
She denied any political commentary in the song: “The interpretations, comments, and narratives being circulated in that post are entirely not mine, and I do not associate myself with or take any onus for them”.
She had a request: “Please do not unnecessarily embroil me in controversies that I have nothing to do with."
Usha Uthup's 'Didi' is a Bengali version of Khaled’s 1992 Arabic track, which she has included in her stage shows since the 1990s. The word “go” is a Bengali term of endearment, not the English word “go”, observers said.
Usha Uthup, 78, sings in English and multiple Indian languages. She reminded her fans that she lives and works in Kolkata "with immense love for the city and its people”.
Usha Uthup singing 'Didi' at a live show.
