Comedian Kunal Kamra continued to face heat for his jokes on Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde as the Legislative Council admitted a breach of privilege notice against him, while a state minister on Thursday sought his arrest, saying "we know how to drag him out".
Twice summoned by the Mumbai police, the 36-year-old stand-up comic, whose caustic comments on Shinde during his latest show in the metropolis, have landed him in trouble and triggered a huge row, vented his ire at the media, calling it a miscommunication arm of the ruling party.
Amid mounting legal trouble for Kamra, the state Legislative Council has admitted a breach of privilege notice against him for allegedly insulting Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, during his recent performance.
Council chairperson Ram Shinde told PTI on Thursday he has accepted the notice against Kamra over the 'traitor' jibe at Shinde and forwarded it to the Privileges Committee.
The controversy stems from Kamra's show at the Habitat Comedy Club in Mumbai's Khar, where he performed a parody song targeting Shinde. The act prompted a strong backlash from Shiv Sena supporters, who vandalised the club and the hotel in which it is located on Sunday night.
Kamra was booked by the Khar police on a complaint by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel for allegedly making defamatory remarks against the Deputy Chief Minister.
As per police sources, the comedian, who is currently in Puducherry according to his Instagram bio, has been asked to appear before authorities in Mumbai within a week.
Talking to reports in Pune, state tourism minister and Shiv Sena leader Shambhuraj Desai said the police should arrest Kamra at the earliest and not test the patience of party workers.
"We have been asked by Shinde to be observe restraint, that is why we are quiet. As Shiv Sena workers, we know how to drag him out from wherever he is hiding, but as ministers we have some restrictions," Desai said.
"We want to tell the police, do not test our patience and nab him from wherever he is, put him in a tyre and give him 'prasad'," the Sena minister added.
In Marathi, the word `prasad' means an offering made to God, but it is also used as a euphemism for punishment.
In New Delhi, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw justified the summons issued to the stand-up comedian over his controversial comments.
"If the law of the land requires it, it should be done," the Information and Broadcasting Minister said when asked if summoning of Kamra by the police was "too extreme" an action.
Vaishnaw said while the Constitution granted citizens certain rights, they were accompanied by some safeguards.
"We have to work within the framework of the Constitution as a society. Freedom of speech and expression is well laid out. Everybody respects it. The Constitution has also laid certain safeguards on it and those safeguards are as important as the rights," Vaishnaw said.
The Union minister emphasised that if everyone followed the safeguards, the society would work in a harmonious way.
"What is right in the western society might not be right in our society. There are different cultural contexts to everything," Vaishnaw noted.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray, whose party has come out in support of Kamra, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti government in the state of double standards over the controversy.
He said state authorities have summoned the comedian for insulting a "traitor," but have not taken any action against actor Rahul Solapurkar over his "insult" of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
"When a comment was made against the 'traitor' (an apparent reference to Shinde), the studio where the programme was recorded was stormed, and Kamra was sent two summonses (for allegedly defaming Shinde). But has even a single summons been issued to Rahul Solapurkar, who allegedly insulted Shivaji Maharaj?" Thackeray asked.
"What right do you have to take action against Kamra? Whose image are you trying to protect?" he added.
Thackeray said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was trying to shield a man (Shinde) whom Kamra did not name directly in his show, but did not say anything about `the man Kamra named'.
Notably, the Sena-UBT mouthpiece Saamana had earlier this week pointed out that the BJP was mum about Kamra's direct jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the same show.
Amid the controversy, the comedian took to X to hit out at the mainstream media and termed it as "vultures".
To all those hounding for a quote, the mainstream media at this point is nothing but a miscommunication arm of the ruling party, Kamra claimed.
They are vultures who report on issues that don't matter to the people of this country. If they all shut shop from tomorrow till eternity they will be doing favour to the country, its people & their own children, he added.
The comedian did not cite any specific reason or instance for his outburst against the mainstream media.
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