Kunal Kamra summoned by Mumbai Police over Eknath Shinde remarks

Comedian Kunal Kamra is summoned by Mumbai police regarding remarks made about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. He is required to appear before the investigating officer at 11 am, reported ANI.

Kamra is currently not in Mumbai. The police had registered an FIR against Kunal Kamra for his remarks during a stand-up comedy show, which was transferred to Khar police for further investigation.

Kamra received criticism for calling Eknath Shinde a "traitor" (Gaddar) during his performance of ‘Naya Bharat’ in Mumbai's Habitat studio. Following his remarks, Shiv Sena party leaders vandalised the Habitat premises. The Mumbai Police have arrested 12 people so far, including Shiv Sena leader Rahul Kanal, in connection with the vandalism.

The joke referred to Eknath Shinde's 2022 split from Uddhav Thackeray to form a rival faction of Shiv Sena.

What did Kunal Kamra say?

Kamra condemned the vandalism of the venue, called it "senseless", and compared to someone overturning a lorry full of tomatoes simply because they disliked butter chicken.

In his statement shared on X, he said, “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."

Habitat Comedy Club's response

Meanwhile, the Habitat Comedy Club said, "We are shocked, worried and extremely broken by the recent acts of vandalism targeting us." They further added that artists are "solely responsible for their views and creative choices", and they have never been involved in the content performed by them.

"But recent events have made us rethink about how we get blamed and targeted every time almost like we are the proxy for the performer", it said. "We are shutting down till we figure out the best way to provide a platform for free expression without putting ourselves and our property in jeopardy. We invite all artists, audience and stakeholders to discuss and share their views free and request your guidance so that we also respect the performers’ rights".