Kunal Kamra jokes on Shinde, Sena workers vandalise his show venue

Shiv Sena workers on Sunday vandalised a hotel in Mumbai's Khar area where stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra's show with gaddar (traitor) jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was filmed, police said.

The vandals ransacked the Habitat Comedy Club in Khar as well as Hotel Unicontinental in whose premises the club is located.

The Habitat, where Kamra's show was held, is the same venue where the controversial India's Got Latent show had been filmed.

After a video went viral showing Kamra allegedly using defamatory words against Shinde, Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel lodged a police complaint.

Patel said he would show "Kamra his level" and asked him to apologise.

Based on the complaint, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered in the early hours of Monday against Kamra under various Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) actions, including 353(1)(b) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation), an official from MIDC police station said.

Earlier, a large number of Shiv Sena workers on Sunday night gathered outside Hotel Unicontinental, where the club is located. 

According to a police official, the party workers reached the auditorium of the hotel after a video of Kamra's jibe against Shinde went viral on social media.

The video was also posted on X by Shiv Sena-UBT leader Sanjay Raut by saying "Kunal Ka Kamal".

Kamra taunted Shinde using a modified version of a Hindi song from the film Dil To Pagal Hai, eliciting laughter from the audience.

Sena MP Naresh Mhaske warned Kamra that he would be chased by Sena workers throughout the country. "You will be forced to flee India," he said in a video message.

Calling Kamra a "contract comedian", Mhaske said he should not have stepped on the "tail of a snake (apparently referring to Shinde)".

"Once the fangs are out, there will be dire consequences," he warned.

The MP from Thane also alleged that the comedian has accepted money from Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and is targeting Shinde.

Sena-UBT MLA Aaditya Thackeray slammed the vandalism at the hotel, calling it a "cowardly" act.

In a post on X, Thackeray said, "Mindhe's coward gang breaks the comedy show stage where comedian @kunalkamra88 put out a song on eknath mindhe, which was 100 per cent true. Only an insecure coward would react to a song by someone."

"By the way, law and order in the state? Another attempt to undermine the CM and Home Minister by Eknath Mindhe," he said.