Comedian’s ‘traitor’ jibe at Shinde stirs political storm

The political storm over comedian Kunal Kamra's alleged mocking of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde intensified on Monday with tremors being felt in Parliament premises and across Maharashtra.

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The divide within the political fraternity widened as the ruling MahaYuti partners in Maharashtra lashed out at the comedian and the rival MahaVikas Aghadi (MVA) batted for freedom of expression.

The controversy took a violent twist with vandalism of The Habitat Studio, the venue of Kamra's recent show in a Mumbai hotel, by Shiv Sena workers on Sunday night, leading to the arrest of 12 people, including Shiv Sena leader Rahul Kanal.

To add more drama, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday carried out demolition at The Habitat Studio, located at the Unicontinental Hotel in Khar, citing violations of civic rules.

The Mumbai Police have lodged an FIR against Kamra over his jibe at Deputy CM Shinde.

“After the registration of FIR, the police have launched a hunt for comedian Kunal Kamra,” said the Minister of State for Home (urban) and Shiv Sena leader, Yogesh Kadam.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Kamra should apologise for referring to Deputy CM Shinde as a “traitor” in his show.