NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra is being investigated for possible defamation after a satirical routine aimed at Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The skit, uploaded on Kamra’s Instagram on March 23, included a parody song in which he called Shinde a “traitor,” a word that angered members of Shinde’s Shiv Sena party.
Following Kamra’s performance, around 20 Shiv Sena supporters vandalized Mumbai’s Habitat Comedy Club, where Kamra’s show was being recorded. More than 10 people associated with the act have been arrested by the authorities, including Rahul Kanal, who is Shiv Sena’s youth leader.
Politicians and celebrities have come out strongly in support of Kamra’s right to express himself. Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan raised the issue of the restriction on speech and raised the question in Parliament, “If there is a ban on speaking, what will happen to you? Where is freedom of speech?”
She also condemned Deputy CM Shinde’s political actions. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant defended Kamra, claiming that everything spoken by him in his special “Naya Bharat” was true. MP Priyanka Chaturvedi decried the vandalism of the comedy club as a sign of increasing intolerance.
The episode underscores ongoing issues around freedom of speech in India, with other comedians previously having faced similar consequences for their performances. FIRs have now been registered against both Kamra for his comments and those involved in the vandalism.
