A confrontation unfolded Sunday night during the Kunjapuri Fair in Narendranagar, Tehri Garhwal, where Daler Mehndi was the headline act for a cultural evening tied to Navratri celebrations.

Uttarakhand Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal, the local MLA, walked onto the stage and challenged the singer directly. NDTV quotes him telling Mehndi, "There is a Durga Mata programme for Navratri, and you are singing at the event after drinking alcohol, which is not appropriate."

The exchange itself became the story once a clip circulated widely on social media. In the video, Uniyal can be heard saying "Bol toh jaa nahi raha, gaana kya gaoge?" — which Gulf News translates as "You can't even speak, so how are you going to sing?"

Mehndi's response is also captured: NDTV and News18 report he requested, "Sir, I request you with folded hands... please leave the stage." ABP Live adds that the crowd reacted with hooting and shouting as the tense face-off played out on a live microphone.

Beyond the intoxication allegation, the technical side of the performance drew fire. Filmibeat reports the trouble began when a background vocal track became audible after Mehndi had performed two songs, convincing some attendees a recorded voice was being used.

ABP Live says the minister accused the singer of "merely churning out sound via an audio mixer" after being paid hefty fees, while News18 cites a Dainik Jagran report on audience complaints about a backing vocal track.

Mehndi, per ABP Live, blamed an unexpected technical glitch rather than deliberate miming.

Multiple outlets are careful to flag the evidentiary limits. Gulf News states plainly that the allegation Mehndi was under the influence has not been independently established, and News18 likewise reports the claim remains unverified.

Neither the singer nor his team has issued an official statement, according to ABP Live.

For readers of a singing vertical, that distinction matters: a slurred-sounding live mic can point to intoxication, illness, or a failing audio chain, and the pack offers no confirmed answer — only the minister's on-stage assertion and the singer's glitch explanation.

The clip split opinion within hours, ABP Live reports.

Some users backed the intervention, saying decorum is paramount at Navratri events near the revered Kunjapuri Devi temple, one of three Siddha Peethas in the district, while others argued that publicly humiliating an artist of Mehndi's stature on a live mic was uncalled for and should have been handled backstage.

That tension — religious sanctity versus respect for a veteran whose hits include 'Bolo Ta Ra Ra' and 'Tunak Tunak Tun' — is what made the story resonate far beyond one hill-town fair.

The immediate aftermath was containment: Filmibeat reports police stepped in to prevent escalation, and organisers and the technical team adjusted arrangements after the disruption.

ABP Live frames the unresolved questions — whether legal action follows, whether the show continued, and whether Mehndi will address the claims — as open ones, with no official clarification so far. Filmibeat notes reports did not explain the technical issue behind the audible background vocals.