Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya has addressed the controversy surrounding Daler Mehndi. The singer, who recently performed at Chhattisgarh Rajyotsava 2026, spoke out against the practice of lip-syncing during live performances. Although he did not name Daler, he referred to the incident in which a singer was called out by a minister for not singing live at an event.
‘Minister spoke the truth, but he became the villain’
A video of Abhijeet addressing the controversy has been doing the rounds on social media. In the clip, he says in Hindi, which translates to, “If someone is not actually singing live into the microphone, then don’t allow it. A few days ago, there was an incident where a minister came onto the stage and spoke the truth. He said, ‘You are not singing. You can barely stand, and you are not really performing live.’ He spoke the truth. But he ended up becoming the villain in the eyes of many people. Yet this is something that happens on stages everywhere.”
‘Don’t let this happen’
He added, “I request all of you, especially here in Chhattisgarh, not to let this happen. No matter how I sing, whether I sing badly, whether my voice is strained, whether I get tired, or whether I sing off-key, whatever I do, I will sing live. That is the respect I owe you for giving me your time. You have spent your hard-earned money, invited me here, and made all these arrangements. Behind this event lies the hard work of the administration, the department and all of you. I bow to all of you and promise that I will never cheat you in this way. I will never simply move my lips in the name of singing. Some people do that, but I won’t.”