Political Turmoil Escalates Over Kunal Kamra's 'Traitor' Remark Directed at Eknath Shinde

Mumbai, March 24 (NationPress) The political turmoil surrounding comedian Kunal Kamra's alleged ridicule of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde grew significantly on Monday, with repercussions felt in Parliament and throughout Maharashtra.

The chasm among political factions widened as the ruling MahaYuti allies criticized the comedian, while the opposing Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) defended the principle of freedom of expression.

This controversy took a violent turn when Shiv Sena workers vandalized The Habitat Studio, the site of Kamra's recent performance in a Mumbai hotel, on Sunday night. This led to the arrest of 12 individuals, including Shiv Sena leader Rahool Kanal.

Compounding the drama, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) executed a demolition at The Habitat Studio on Monday, citing breaches of civic regulations.

The Mumbai Police have filed an FIR against Kamra concerning his remarks about Deputy CM Shinde.

“Following the FIR registration, the police have initiated a search for comedian Kunal Kamra,” stated Yogesh Kadam, the Minister of State for Home (urban) and a Shiv Sena leader.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remarked that Kamra should apologize for labeling Deputy CM Shinde a “traitor” during his performance.

“Everyone is entitled to engage in stand-up comedy, but freedom must not equate to unrestrained behavior. Kamra must promptly apologize for his statement. Legal action will be initiated against him,” CM Fadnavis stated.

Kamra, who was in Tamil Nadu when contacted by Maharashtra Police, declined to apologize.

Aaditya Thackeray, a leader of Shiv Sena-UBT and MLA, expressed support for the comedian and condemned the attack on the studio, labeling it an act of cowardice.

In a post on X, Thackeray stated, “Mindhe's (referring to Shinde) cowardly gang disrupts the comedy show stage where comedian @kunalkamra88 performed a song about Eknath Mindhe, which was entirely accurate. Only an insecure coward would respond to a song from someone.”

His party colleague and MP Sanjay Raut questioned whether censorship and an Emergency had been enforced in Maharashtra. He also urged Chief Minister Fadnavis, who oversees the home portfolio, to relinquish departmental control.

In the midst of this political conflict, Samajwadi Party MP and actress Jaya Bachchan denounced the vandalism and the charges against the comedian, stating, “If such actions are being taken for expressing opinions, then where is freedom of speech?”

Milind Deora, a Shiv Sena MP, criticized Kamra's display of humor as distasteful. He asserted that political elites have “hired classist elitists as paid agents” like him to divert public attention from pressing issues, especially the Disha Salian case.

During his performance, Kamra remarked, “Meri nazar se tum dekho toh, gaddar nazar wo aaye. Haaye,” a clear jab at Deputy CM Shinde, utilizing a modified version of a Hindi song from 'Dil To Pagal Hai'.

His comments appeared to reference Shinde's 2022 rebellion, which resulted in the bifurcation of Shiv Sena into two factions: the Shinde faction and the Uddhav Thackeray faction.

The controversy escalated after the comedian posted a video clip on the social media platform X.

The Habitat Studio, where Kamra made his comment aimed at Deputy CM Shinde, is the same venue that hosted the contentious show 'India's Got Latent'. Comments made by podcaster Samay Raina during that event sparked public outrage.

The studio announced its permanent closure on Monday as a consequence of the vandalism that occurred on Sunday.