2 min readMar 19, 2026 08:50 AM IST
Objecting to obscene music played during processions, Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad Wednesday urged the government to put an end to loud DJ sets. Speaking in the Assembly, Lad said DJ music has become a major problem across the state.
“May it be any jayanthi, without an item song, (the procession of the deity) does not move forward,” he said, calling such developments intolerable. “Such item songs and DJ music are not good for culture,” he said, urging the government to put an end to DJ music during processions.
Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi supported Lad’s view and asked the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to cooperate with the government. “An order will have to be issued stopping it. There are a lot of problems caused by DJ music,” Tangadagi said.
The discussion comes amid tensions reported in several parts of the state, stemming from confrontations between groups, as processions with loud DJ sets passed by places of worship.
IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge said DJ culture is new and noted that there were several objections to the type of songs played during processions, backing the demand to ban such sets.
BJP legislator S N Channabasappa, however, appeared to object, saying that if there was one thing the government had to ban, it was the prayer calls at mosques made through loudspeakers.
Kharge responded, saying that the Supreme Court order was not related to azaan. “The Supreme Court has specified decibel levels, may it be for azaan or bhajan,” he said.
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Assembly Speaker UT Khader intervened and suggested the government issue an order curbing the use of DJ sets.
Senior BJP legislator S Suresh Kumar also raised concerns about the issue, saying several cardiac patients with pacemakers suffered due to loud music during such processions. “Children too are affected… We should think about it seriously,” he said.
