A performance by Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi at an event in Uttarakhand has landed in controversy after a state cabinet minister walked onto the stage mid-performance and asked him to stop singing, alleging that the singer had consumed alcohol before taking the stage. A video of the incident has since gone viral on social media.
The incident took place on Sunday at the Kunjapuri Fair in Uttarakhand's Tehri district. The cultural programme was part of the Navratri celebrations. Subodh Uniyal, the state cabinet minister who is also the MLA for Narendranagar, objected to the performance and walked onto the stage while Mehndi was performing.
Standing right next to the singer, Uniyal said the event was dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga and that performing under the influence of alcohol was not appropriate on such an occasion.
"There is a Durga Mata programme for Navratri, and you are singing at the event after drinking alcohol, which is not appropriate," the minister said on stage. He reiterated that the religious nature of the celebrations required performers to respect the occasion's dignity and decorum.
The Kunjapuri Fair is an important religious and cultural gathering in the region. The Kunjapuri temple is a revered Devi shrine in the Garhwal Himalayas, and the fair organised around it draws large crowds of devotees and visitors every year. The Navratri cultural programme was meant to entertain the gathering while honouring the religious significance of the occasion.
Uniyal also spoke about why the singer had been invited, telling Mehndi that he had been called to entertain the audience and that his reputation came with a responsibility to respect the occasion.
"We called you so that our people could be entertained. You are making a fool of us," Uniyal said. "This is wrong. It's wrong. You have a big name; we should respect that. You were called because you have a big name."
In the video that has since gone viral, Uniyal can also be heard saying in Hindi, "Bol toh jaa nahi raha, gaana kya gaoge?" — roughly, "You can't even speak, what song will you sing?" The clip was widely shared, with regional news accounts posting it on October 19.
The singer, for his part, appeared to interject Uniyal during the confrontation. In the video, Mehndi can be heard saying, "Sir, I request you with folded hands... please leave the stage."
The allegation that Mehndi had consumed alcohol before the performance is just that — an allegation. The minister's claim was made on stage in front of the audience, but no independent verification of it has been reported so far. The incident has nonetheless triggered a debate over the propriety of a minister publicly confronting an invited artiste in this manner, and over the line between enforcing decorum at a religious event and publicly humiliating a performer.
Amid the controversy, an old interview of the singer has resurfaced in which he spoke about not drinking alcohol and credited the habit for helping him maintain his voice. In a 2024 interview with Navbharat Times, Daler Mehndi said: "One reason my voice has remained intact is that I do not drink alcohol. Otherwise, it would have been much more difficult. These days, even matching the voice you had five years ago can be a challenge, but I have recorded a song that I originally sang 27 years ago."
The singer's remarks have drawn attention in light of the recent incident at the Kunjapuri Fair, with fans and social media users citing the interview to question the minister's allegation.
Daler Mehndi is one of the most recognisable names in Punjabi pop music, with a career spanning over three decades. His energetic songs and flamboyant stage presence have made him a fixture at fairs, concerts and wedding celebrations across North India, and his performances are known for their high-energy delivery — which is partly why the minister's comment about his voice drew attention.
The episode also highlights the sometimes-tense relationship between invited performers and local organisers at government-linked cultural events. Mehndi was invited to entertain the people of the region, and the minister's public intervention — stepping onto the stage during a live performance — has been criticised by some as a breach of hospitality and decorum on the minister's own part, whatever the merits of the allegation.
Others have defended the minister, arguing that an event organised as part of Navratri, a festival dedicated to the worship of the Goddess, carries a religious sanctity that performers must respect, and that organisers have every right to insist on decorum. Uniyal's supporters point to his role as the local MLA and the representative of the people who had gathered for the celebration.
The controversy comes at a time when the Uttarakhand government has been keen to promote the state's religious and cultural tourism, with fairs like Kunjapuri positioned as major attractions. Incidents like Sunday's — where a cultural programme organised under the government's own umbrella becomes a stage for a public confrontation — are unlikely to help that cause.
Whether the matter ends here or escalates further will depend on whether either side takes it forward. The singer's team has not issued a formal statement so far, and the minister has not publicly elaborated on his allegation beyond what he said on stage. For now, the viral video remains the fullest account of what transpired — a few minutes of stagecraft interrupted by politics, at a fair where the music was supposed to be the point.
The broader conversation the incident has sparked is about accountability and evidence: a public allegation of intoxication against a performer, made without any test or proof, carries reputational consequences that outlive the evening. As the video continues to circulate, both the singer's fans and the minister's supporters are drawing their own conclusions — but the facts of what the singer had or had not consumed before the performance remain, as of now, unverified.
(Reporting based on The Times of India and NDTV.)