Popular singer Daler Mehndi was scolded on stage during a live performance by a state cabinet minister for allegedly being inebriated. A video of the incident has gone live on social media.
Daler was performing at the Kunjapuri Fair in Uttarakhand’s Tehri district on Sunday when state cabinet minister Subodh Uniyal went on stage and asked him to stop singing.
Subodh, who is also the MLA for Uttarakhand’s Narendranagar, objected to the singer's performance during the programme organised as part of the Navratri celebrations. He told him that the event was dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga and that performing under the influence of alcohol was inappropriate 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.
The MLA reiterated that 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.
"We called you so that our people could be entertained. You are making a fool of us," he 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, Daler appeared to interject the minister by saying, "Sir, I request you with folded hands...please leave the stage."
Subodh also later issued a clarification and expressed his disappointment, saying, "He is a big artist. If a big artist doesn't do justice to their art, he seemed disoriented on stage and didn't seem to be able to even keep standing."
"Besides this, he was only lip-syncing to his songs. I told him that he is a big artist, and he should do justice to his art; he had been offered Rs 35 lakh to come and perform, but he was not even singing. So, I expressed my resentment," he told ANI.
