Veteran singer Usha Uthup has responded to a viral social media post that linked her Bengali song “Didi” to the alleged electoral defeat of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The singer strongly denied the claims, calling them misleading and incorrect, and clarified that the song has no political connection whatsoever.

The controversy began when a post circulating on X (formerly Twitter) featured a video of Usha Uthup singing the Bengali track “Didi.” The post claimed that the singer was celebrating the political downfall of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the West Bengal Assembly elections. It further alleged that during the TMC government, she faced demands for “cut money” for performances, which supposedly led her to leave Kolkata and move to Mumbai.

The post quickly gained traction on social media, sparking debates and misinformation around the singer’s personal and professional life. However, Usha Uthup promptly addressed the issue through an official statement shared on Instagram, where she categorically rejected all such claims.

In her clarification, Uthup said that several posts circulating across X, Instagram, and WhatsApp were factually incorrect and misleading. She explained that the song in question is a Bengali composition that was created many years ago and is inspired by an Arabic tune. She emphasized that she has been performing the song purely as a musical piece for over two decades, with no political or ideological meaning attached to it.

The singer also addressed another widely circulated claim that she had left Kolkata due to political reasons and later returned. She firmly dismissed this narrative, stating that she has been living in Kolkata since 1976 and has never relocated to Mumbai on a permanent basis. According to her, Kolkata has always been her home, and she continues to maintain a deep emotional and cultural connection with the city and its people.

Uthup further expressed disappointment over the misuse of her name in political narratives, stating that she does not wish to be dragged into unrelated controversies. She clarified that she does not endorse or associate herself with any of the claims made in the viral post and bears no responsibility for such fabricated stories.

In her concluding remarks, she appealed to social media users to refrain from spreading false information and requested that she not be unnecessarily pulled into political debates. Signing off warmly, she added “lots of love, Didi (Usha Uthup),” reinforcing her affectionate and apolitical tone in the statement.

The clarification comes at a time when misinformation on social media platforms continues to blur the line between entertainment and political discourse. Viral posts often use edited videos or out-of-context content to create misleading narratives, which can quickly influence public perception before fact-checking occurs.

The specific claim linking the “Didi” song to the alleged 2026 West Bengal election outcome also added fuel to the controversy. According to the viral post, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a significant victory in the state elections, winning 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) reportedly suffered a major setback, falling to 80 seats. The post further claimed that Mamata Banerjee lost her Bhabanipur seat by a large margin and that BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as the first BJP Chief Minister of West Bengal.

However, Uthup’s statement makes it clear that she has no connection to any such political interpretations or claims being circulated online. She reiterated that her work as a singer spans decades and is rooted purely in music, culture, and artistic expression.

Usha Uthup, known for her powerful voice and unique musical style, has been a prominent figure in Indian music for decades. Her repertoire spans multiple languages and genres, and she has built a reputation as one of India’s most respected and versatile performers. Over the years, she has often been admired for her ability to transcend regional and linguistic boundaries through her music.

This incident once again highlights the growing challenge of misinformation in the digital age, where public figures are frequently drawn into controversies based on unverified or manipulated content. Despite Uthup’s clear clarification, the viral nature of the original post demonstrates how quickly narratives can spread online before being corrected.

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Viral Claim: "India-Israel Drone Factory Attacked in Delhi." Reality: It Was a Fish Market Fire in Uttam Nagar.

A video is spreading rapidly across X, Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube on March 12, 2026, with a claim that a joint India-Israel drone manufacturing facility in New Delhi has been attacked — with flames, explosions, Indian and Israeli casualties, and the suggestion that it is retaliation connected to the ongoing Iran-US-Israel war.

It is completely false.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has formally debunked it. The video does not show a defence facility. It does not show an attack. The MEA Fact Check unit clarified that the video shows a fire at the Matiala fish market in Uttam Nagar, Delhi, on March 12, 2026 — not a drone factory. No casualties were reported there. There are no credible reports of a fire or casualties at any India-Israel drone facility in New Delhi. Military.com

The MEA Fact Check unit stated in a social media post that the claim is false, and urged the public to remain cautious about misleading information circulating online. Zee News

What the Viral Posts Actually Claimed

The disinformation spread through a cascade of influential social media handles — many of them identified as pro-Iran accounts operating during the current Middle East conflict — using emotionally charged language designed to go viral before verification was possible.

Several influential handles on X with large followings circulated posts claiming that a fire had broken out at a joint India-Israel defence facility in Delhi. The claim was widely shared by accounts identified as pro-Iran supporters, gaining traction as Iran and the US-Israel alliance continue to trade blows in the ongoing Middle East war. Military.com

One widely shared post stated: "New Delhi, India — a fire broke out at a drone manufacturing factory shared by Israel and India. Explosions and flames erupted everywhere, with multiple Indian and Israeli casualties reported."

Every element of that claim — the location, the nature of the facility, the casualties, the cause — is fabricated.

Why This Disinformation Campaign Is Not Random

Understanding why this fake news spread so fast requires understanding the information warfare ecosystem around the Iran-US-Israel conflict.

Pakistani propaganda social media accounts have been fabricating and amplifying videos of Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, and Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi supposedly 'admitting' that India aided Israeli attacks against Iran — framing these false statements as India's 'open betrayal' of Iran to incite global hatred against India. This 'India betrayed Iran' rhetoric, rooted in falsehoods, speculations, and outright propaganda, is being pushed even as India offered sanctuary to at least three Iranian naval ships, with Iran itself thanking New Delhi. NBC News

The Delhi drone factory claim fits neatly into this broader campaign. Its goal is not to inform — it is to inflame: to suggest India is a legitimate military target in the Iran-US war, to damage India's neutral diplomatic positioning, and to generate communal tension domestically by stoking anger over an India-Israel defence relationship.

Separately, Indian Islamist social media accounts have been targeting the Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India joint venture drone manufacturing factory in Hyderabad — spreading claims that Israeli weapons are being manufactured in India and used against Iran and Gaza — painting a dangerously distorted picture of India's defence manufacturing landscape. NBC News

What India's Actual Defence Relationship With Israel Looks Like

The existence of India-Israel defence cooperation is not a secret — it is a well-documented and entirely legal strategic partnership.

Israel has been among India's top three defence suppliers for over three decades. The partnership includes the Barak-8 medium-to-long range air defence missile system — a joint venture between Israel Aerospace Industries and India's DRDO — as well as Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Harop loitering munitions, Heron surveillance drones, Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control Systems, and advanced radar and electronic warfare systems. Bloomberg

India-Israel defence trade has surpassed USD 15 billion, and with military modernisation a key priority, India continues to build on this partnership, including through co-production and infrastructure development in India. Bloomberg

India's defence ties with Israel are a sovereign strategic decision — and they coexist, simultaneously, with India's longstanding diplomatic relationship with Iran, its purchase of Iranian oil, and its stated position of neutrality in the current conflict. These are not contradictions. They are the architecture of a multi-aligned foreign policy.

This Is a Pattern — Not an Isolated Incident

India has faced waves of coordinated defence disinformation before. During Operation Sindoor in May 2025, the government debunked seven separate instances of disinformation in a single day — including fake drone attack footage from Jalandhar that was actually a farm fire, a forged letter signed by a fictitious Army Chief, and fabricated videos of non-existent Indian military posts being destroyed. Wionews

The Matiala fish market fire video being presented as a drone factory attack is the same playbook — a real fire, stripped of its actual context, relabelled with a false narrative, and distributed at scale before verification can catch up with the share count.

The difference is that the geopolitical stakes in March 2026 are higher — an active war in West Asia, India's energy security under pressure, and a domestic audience that is already anxious and therefore more vulnerable to emotionally charged false claims.

How to Protect Yourself From This Wave of Disinformation

With information warfare escalating alongside the Iran-US conflict, here is a practical checklist for every Indian social media user:

• Before sharing any viral claim about India's defence facilities — check PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck on X) and MEA Fact Check (@MEAFactCheck) first
• Reverse image search every viral video before accepting its claimed location or context — tools like InVID/WeVerify can identify repurposed footage in seconds
• Look for the original source — if a video's origin cannot be traced to an identifiable news organisation or official source, treat it as unverified
• Pause on emotionally extreme claims — content designed to provoke immediate outrage (attacks, explosions, casualties) is disproportionately likely to be manipulated
• Report fake news to the government's official fact-check portal: pib.gov.in/factcheck

The Bottom Line

A fish market in Uttam Nagar, Delhi, caught fire on March 12, 2026. Within hours, that footage had been stripped of its real context, relabelled as an attack on an India-Israel drone facility, and shared by thousands of accounts as evidence of a geopolitical event that never happened.

The MEA has been explicit: there are no credible reports of any fire or casualties at any India-Israel drone facility in New Delhi. Military.com The claim is fake. The video is mislabelled. The campaign behind it has a clear agenda.

In a war where missiles are flying in West Asia and disinformation is flying on social media, the most dangerous weapon is not a drone — it is a viral video with the wrong caption. India's citizens deserve better than to be manipulated by it.

Verdict: FAKE NEWS. Completely False. Do not share.