National Folk & Duet Song Academy Nepal (Rastriya Lok Tatha Dohori Geet Pratisthan Nepal) has urged singer Pashupati Sharma to re-upload his song "Lutna sake lut" which he had taken down from YouTube following threats from the youth wing of ruling Nepal Communist Party.

Sharma’s new music video “Lootna Sake Loota Kancha” was trending at the number 10 spot in YouTube Nepal on Saturday. But less than 48 hours after it was uploaded online, the singer, who is known for his satirical take in his songs, took down the video despite an overwhelmingly positive response from listeners on social media and other platforms.

An emergency meeting of the Academy on Sunday released a statement saying that citizens should be able criticise government and public servants through various mediums like songs, video, and acting, among others. "Expressing one’s views is a right under the Freedom of Expression and we won’t tolerate the infringement of that freedom," read the statement.

The organisation further clarified that it had not asked singer Sharma to take down the song from the digital platform nor has it received any requests as such from some other people or organisations.

"If Sharma has decided to pull down the song to change certain wordings which he "deemed necessary", it is his right to do so," read the statement, "But if the singer took down the song due to pressures and threats from anywhere, the organisation urges him to re-upload the song in its original form."

Likewise, the Academy condemned any sort of pressure given by any organisation to the artist following the release of the song. "We take a strong stand and will not tolerate any actions that infringes the freedom of any artist."

The song is a satirical take on the corruption prevalent in Nepal’s public and government sector, and includes a chorus that roughly translates to “If you can rob, you should rob; you can’t do it anywhere else in the world, but you’re free to do so in Nepal.”

NCP youth wing, Youth Federation Nepal, had issued a statement in its Facebook page on Saturday accusing the singer of defaming the ruling party while aligning with the main opposition Nepali Congress. The group had also asked Sharma to “correct his mistakes” and threatened him that the federation would be compelled to take steps that would ruin his career.

Meanwhile, members of Swatantra Nagarik Samuha organised a protest at Maitighar today against the threats issued to pressurise Sharma to take down the song from YouTube.

The demonstrators played and danced to Sharma's songs. They also chanted slogans and displayed placards that read "Communist government or Panchayat returns".