Mumbai, Feb 4 (NationPress) Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has been summoned to appear in person on February 17 before the Maharashtra Legislative Council’s Privileges Committee regarding an alleged insult directed at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, as confirmed by the committee’s chairman Prasad Lad on Wednesday.

Kamra faces a breach of privilege motion due to a viral comic song from last year's budget session, in which he referred to Shinde as a “traitor”. This remark sparked significant backlash from the ruling Mahayuti coalition and ignited discussions in both legislative Houses.

The breach of privilege motion was initiated by BJP legislator Pravin Darekar, who claimed that the comedian's comments insulted a “popular leader” and constituted a violation of the House’s privileges.

Shiv Sena UBT Deputy Sushma Andhare and Kunal Kamra, who were called to account for their remarks about Eknath Shinde, notified the legislature that they could not attend the scheduled hearing on Thursday.

Andhare stated that she is currently occupied with campaigning for the Zilla Parishad and touring rural areas, making it impossible for her to attend the hearing. She requested a rescheduling of the hearing.

Meanwhile, Kamra has indicated that he is unable to be present and that his attorney will represent him at the hearing.

Lad informed reporters that Kamra had communicated his inability to attend the first mandatory hearing. “Kunal Kamra has communicated his inability to appear today. He has now been given February 17 to depose before the committee,” Lad stated.

The committee has also postponed the hearings for Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare and NCP (SP) worker Suryakant More.

Lad mentioned that More, who was expected to appear on Wednesday, cited traffic issues on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and has been rescheduled for February 16, while Andhare, busy with Zilla Parishad election campaigning, is now set to appear on February 17.

The privileges committee of the legislative council accepted the requests from both Kunal Kamra and Sushma Andhare to postpone the hearing related to the alleged insult of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, summoning them for February 17.

The chairman noted that the committee is obligated to conduct three mandatory hearings, with Wednesday being the first, all of which were missed by the three individuals.

“Prima facie, they have committed an offence and insulted our deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. Once they depose before the committee, we will show them their videos, and the hearing will be recorded,” Lad added.

Separate breach of privilege motions have been filed against Andhare for a video supporting Kamra and against More for alleged derogatory statements regarding Legislative Council chairman Ram Shinde.