The Maharashtra excise department cancelled the alcohol permit for Diljit Dosanjh's concert in Pune's Kothrud area after receiving objections from various quarters, including Chandrakant Patil, the newly elected BJP MLA from Kothrud. The cancellation happened just hours before the event, where liquor was initially planned to be served.

"The state excise department has cancelled the permission to serve liquor during the programme, " said state excise commissioner C Rajput. Later in the evening, MLA Patil objected to the concert scheduled at Kakade Farm in Kothrud.

The BJP leader said in a statement, "Such events are not in line with the city's culture. They will cause significant disruption for residents and lead to traffic congestion. Therefore, I have requested the city police commissioner to cancel the event."

Alcohol row in Diljit's concert

The controversy over alcohol started during Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh's Dil-Luminati tour in India. Before his concert in Hyderabad, the Telangana government sent him a notice asking him to avoid songs about alcohol, drugs, and violence. In response, Dosanjh changed the lyrics of some songs during his performance. For example, he swapped "5 Tara Theke" with "5 Tara Hotel" and changed "daaru 'ch lemonade" to "Coke 'ch lemonade".

How Diljit reacted to the controversy

In response to the Telangana government notice Diljit said, he will stop performing such songs if all liquor shops in India are shut down. At his Ahmedabad show during the Dil-Luminati India Tour 2024, Diljit addressed the notice he received before his Hyderabad concert, which asked him to avoid songs about alcohol, drugs, or violence.

Diljit also declared himself a teetotaler and suggested a nationwide movement for the prohibition of alcohol. He said, "If all states declare themselves dry states, I’ll stop singing about alcohol the very next day. Let’s start a movement, you close the 'thekas' (liquor stores), and I’ll stop making such songs. I take this pledge."