He has been credited for music, lyrics, singing, composition, and direction of the video.
Religious leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, convicted for rape and murder and out on parole, has featured in a music video that is racking up numbers on YouTube. Convicted in 2017, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief got a 20-year jail term. He was granted a 40-day parole last week following an application filed by his family.
His flashy new Punjabi music video was released on his YouTube channel on the day of Diwali. The text descriptions of the video credits him with music, lyrics, singing, composition, and direction. Over the last 22 hours, it had more than 42 lakh views.
The video shows Ram Rahim walking around lighting diyas and features clips of him accompanying his two mentors, to whom the lyrics pay tribute. "People celebrate Diwali on one day, but thanks to you (his two predecessor gurus Shah Satnam and Shah Mastana) every day is Diwali for us," the lyrics say.
Autotuned singing accompanied by disco music and colourful dresses and visuals are a favourite with Gurmeet Ram Rahim ever since he launched his first song "Love Charger" nearly ten years ago.
Shortly after his release, he had hosted a virtual 'satsang' event from Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat, which was attended by several politicians, including the mayor of Haryana's Karnal and several leaders of the ruling BJP.
The timing of Ram Rahim's release on parole has been criticized by the opposition, which pointed out that he is always released ahead of an election. This time, Haryana is heading for panchayat elections and by-polls for the Adampur assembly constituency.
Earlier, the Dera chief was released on a month-long parole in June - ahead of elections to 46 civic bodies. In February, ahead of the Punjab assembly elections, he was given three weeks' furlough.
"Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was given 40 days parole in view of the by-election in Adampur. Why doesn't BJP make Ram Rahim contest the election so that he doesn't have to take secret votes?" tweeted senior Congress leader Udit Raj.
Trinamool Congress's Mahua Moitra also hit out at the BJP after Ram Rahim's release on parole. "What next- BJP declaring "Rapists' Day" as a national holiday? Rape convict Ram Rahim gets parole again, hosts satsang attended by host of BJP Haryana leaders," she tweeted.
The BJP's Haryana unit is yet to respond to the criticism.
Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women disciples at his ashram in Sirsa, where the Dera is headquartered, and there have been several allegations of the BJP using him to influence voters ahead of key elections.