After Telangana, Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh has now hit a roadblock ahead of his concert in Chandigarh, after a child protection body ordered him to not perform songs with references of alcohol and violence. Not just that, but they also prohibited him from tweaking the lyrics, like he did in Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
Diljit is set to perform in Chandigarh on December 14 as part of his Dil-Luminati India tour. Ahead of the concert, the Chandigarh Child Rights Commission issued an advisory, banning him from singing songs that contain references of alcohol.
The commission listed songs like Patiala Peg, 5 Taara and Case in the advisory. It also mentioned that Diljit must not tweak the lyrics to bypass the restrictions and sing those songs. It stated that such songs might have a negative impact on the mindset of the youth and encourage them to consume alcohol.
The commission also banned Diljit from inviting kids on stage during his performance. It stated that alcohol should not be served to those below legal drinking age at the concert venue.
“It has come to our notice that children are called on stage during concerts and the sound is harmful for children. Concerts go on till very late at night and there is a high possibility of a supply of alcohol. Alcohol should not be served to children below 18 years of age,” Shipra Bansal, Chairperson of Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights, told ANI.
“We also issued an advisory in view of the concert of Punjabi singer Karan Aujla. It has come to our notice that during the last concert of singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh, children were called on stage… Sometimes some songs are played which are not good for children,” she added.
Similar concerns were voiced by the Telangana government earlier, before Diljit’s mega concert in Hyderabad on November 15. However, the singer changed the word ‘daaru’ to ‘coke’ and ‘theka’ to ‘hotel’ to bypass the restrictions.
Then, during his concert in Ahmedabad, Diljit called for a nationwide ban on the sale of alcohol, and vowed to never sing songs referring to liquor or violence if India was declared as a ‘dry country’.
He also took a dig at the government and stated that no one thinks about the youth when alcohol is sold in the open as it generates revenue, but they feel that mere mention of certain words in a song will impact the youth.