Eknath Shinde reacts to Kunal Kamra 'gaddar' joke: 'This is like taking supari to speak against ...'

Kunal Kamra targeted Eknath Shinde with a parody of 'Bholi Si Surat' song

Maharashtra Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday broke his silence on the row over stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra's alleged joke against him, saying that there should be a "limit".

"Freedom of speech is there; we understand satire, but there should be a limit. This is like taking 'supari' (contract) to speak against someone," said Shinde.

This is his first direct response to the massive row that has sparked a political slugfest in Maharashtra and ignited a debate on freedom of speech.

During an interview with BBC Marathi, Shinde was asked about the Kunal Kamra episode. "Whose supari does he take to do such things? Freedom is important in a democracy, but to say wrong things about someone at someone's behest... forget about me, what has he said about (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji? What has he said about the (former) Chief Justice? about Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman? about Home Minister Amit Shah? About industrialists," he said as quoted by NDTV.

Shinde also said he does not support party workers' vandalism at a Mumbai studio to protest Kamra's remarks. However, quoted Issac Newton's third law of motion. "The other person should also maintain certain level, otherwise, action causes reaction," he said.

Kamra kicked up a major political storm in Maharashtra for taking a jibe at Shinde’s political career in his show by modifying the lyrics of a popular Hindi movie song.

During his performance at the Habitat Comedy Club at the Unicontinental hotel in Khar area, Kamra had referred to Shinde as a “traitor” and went on to sing a parody on him. He describes the 2022 rebellion of Shinde against his then-boss Uddhav Thackeray.

As multiple videos of Kamra’s humour went viral, workers of the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) ransacked the show’s venue. Later, they also got a First Information Report (FIR) registered against Kamra.

The Mumbai Police on Tuesday  issued a notice to  Kamra. Kamra has been asked to appear before the Khar police as part of the ongoing investigation at 11 am, according to PTI

According to PTI, an initial notice has been served to Kamra, though further details of the probe remain undisclosed.