A Mumbai Police team reportedly reached comedian Kunal Kamra’s residence in Dadar on Monday in connection with the case related to the ongoing controvery surrounding his jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Three separate cases have been filed against the stand-up comedian at Khar police station, with one complaint lodged by the Mayor of Jalgaon city and the other two by a hotelier and a businessman from Nashik, as revealed by Mumbai Police.
On March 27, the Mumbai police summoned the comedian to appear on March 31 at the Khar Police Station for questioning in the case. This was the third summon issued to Kamra after he failed to appear before the police in the first two summons.
Kamra will get ‘Shiv Sena-style welcome’ upon return to Mumbai: Rahul Kanal
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena’s Yuva Sena (Shinde faction) General Secretary Rahul Kanal has issued a strong statement regarding the stand-up comedian saying that he will receive a “Shiv Sena-style” welcome upon his return to Mumbai from Tamil Nadu.
Kamra was granted anticipatory bail by the Madras high court until April 7 after multiple FIRs were filed against him over his satirical video targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Kamra had moved the Madras High Court seeking transit anticipatory bail, saying that he has been receiving death threats following the controversy.
Kamra’s “traitor” jibe at Eknath Shinde
Kamra, known for his satirical style of comedy, was recently performing at a stand-up show at the Unicontinental Hotel in Mumbai’s Khar area, where he mocked Shinde’s defection from the Shiv Sena and his alliance with the BJP by allegedly calling him a “gaddar” (traitor) in an indirect manner. The jokes, which included a parody of a song from the Bollywood movie “Dil To Pagal Hai”, were aimed at Shinde, even though Kamra did not mention him by name. His performance quickly gained attention on social media, following which it triggered a series of protests and even violence.
Kunal Kamra refuses to apologise
Refusing to apologise for his act, the comedian recently issued a statement on social media where he wrote, “I will not apologise. What I said is exactly what Mr. Ajit Pawar (1st Deputy CM) said about Mr. Eknath Shinde (2nd Deputy CM). I don’t fear this mob and I will not be hiding under my bed, waiting for this to die down.”
Highlighting the importance of freedom of speech in India, Kunal Kamra further mentioned in his statement, “Our right to freedom of speech and expression is not only to be used to fawn over the powerful and rich even though today’s media would have us believe otherwise. Your inability to take a joke at the expense of a powerful public figure does not change the nature of my right. As far as I know, it is not against the law to poke fun at our leaders and the circus that is our political system.”
