‘Picture abhi baaki hai’, says Sena after ruckus over Kunal Kamra’s Shinde joke, MVA condemns ‘hooliganism’

Kunal Kamra’s alleged defamatory remarks against Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday triggered reactions across political parties, even as the Mumbai police registered an FIR against the stand-up comedian and nearly 40 Shiv Sena workers for vandalising the Habitat Studio, which hosted his show last night.

While the Mahayuti alliance partners – the BJP and Shiv Sena – condemned the alleged remarks and sensed a conspiracy, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) defended Kamra’s constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression.

Mahayuti reacts

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said “nobody” should violate the law, constitution and rules. “They should speak within their rights. There can be differences, but it should be noted that there need not be police involvement.”

Shiv Sena youth wing (Shinde faction) General Secretary Rahool Kanal, who has an FIR against him over vandalism of the venue where Kunal Kamra’s act was filmed, alleged that Kamra’s act was a “paid conspiracy.” Kanal said the issue was about self-respect and targeting elders. “The message (for Kunal Kamra) is clear, ‘Abhi tak toh ye trailer hai, picture abhi baki hai.’ Whenever you are in Mumbai, you will get a good lesson in Shiv Sena style,” he threatened.

BJP MLA Ram Kadam told ANI that Kamra’s remark was timed to distract attention from the Thackrey family’s alleged involvement in the Disha Salian case. He also claimed that “insulting” a former chief minister is an “insult to the land of Maharashtra.”

“Whose contract is he working on? Thackeray faction? Look at the timing. Did Kunal Kamra deliberately choose this time to distract people as soon as Thackeray family’s name appeared in Disha Salian case? That too on the behest of Thackeray faction? What is the reason? It’s time to blacken his face wherever one sees him. Maharashtra Government will take strict action against Kunal Karma, we warn him that he cannot use derogatory language for petty publicity,” Kadam said.

MVA defends Kamra

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Kamra similarly joked about the MVA government and condemned hooliganism. “However, I believe that there is freedom of speech. If there is no personal comment, then that should be accepted. If the comment is on any political line of thought, it should be accepted. This is the beauty of our country’s democracy. Kunal Kamra’s office, studio were vandalised, this is hooliganism,” he said.

NCP-SCP MLA Rohit Pawar, this is not the pre-2014 era for comedians to enjoy freedom of expression and urged leaders to impart some wisdom to their party workers.

“Such satirical remarks were a strength for several tall leaders, like Balasaheb Thackeray. Eknath Shinde is his worker. In 2003, such remarks were made on Chhagan Bhujbal, who is now in Mahayuti. At that time, his workers vandalised an office. Taking responsibility for it, Chhagan Bhujbal had resigned. When Rahul Gandhi was asked about a petty comment on Rajiv Gandhi in a series, he said that Rajiv Gandhi’s significance will not diminish if someone says something like that,” Pawar said.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression. “If anybody has insulted someone, then you should investigate the matter. Courts are there to punish them, but this is hooliganism,” he said.