Eknath Shinde said what Kunal Kamra is doing is not freedom of speech but is like working for someone, taking an indirect dig at Shiv Sena UBT faction
GUWAHATI, March 25: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has slammed stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra over his ‘gaddar’ jibe directed at him saying that “satire is okay but there should be a limit”.
Kamra stirred a major controversy after he made a ‘gaddar’ (traitor) joke directed at the Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister following which activists of the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena resorted to vandalism at the Habitat Studio where the episode was shot.
“Freedom of speech is there. We understand satire. But there should be a limit. This is like taking ‘supari’ (contract) to speak against someone,” The Times of India quoted him as saying at a BBC Marathi event.
Shinde further stated that the stand-up comedian was misusing his freedom of speech and appeared to have been working for someone, as he took a jibe at the Uddhav Thackarey faction of the Shiv Sena without naming anybody.
“This same person (Kamra) had commented on the Supreme Court of India, the Prime Minister, (journalist) Arnab Goswami and some industrialists. This is not freedom of speech; this is working for someone,” The Times of India further quoted him as saying in their news report.
The controversy over Kamra’s comments directed at Eknath Shinde had also led to the a team of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) arriving at Habitat Studio in Mumbai yesterday (March 24) for a demolition drive where the standup comedian had made the controversial remark against Shinde.
Kamra had sang a parody version of popular song ‘Bholi Si Surat’ from the 1997 blockbuster ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ and used the term “gaddar” (traitor) to reportedly target Shinde.
BMC officials arrived at the premises with hammers and carried out the demolition drive citing violation of rules.
Multiple FIRs were filed against the stand-up comedian, including one based on a complaint by minister Pratap Sarnaik.
Members of Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, also vandalised the Habitat comedy venue following the controversy although 12 Yuva Sena members were arrested by Mumbai Police after the protests. They were, however, given bail today.
