Bhim Army General Secretary Kanishk Singh has filed a complaint against comedian Vir Das for his comments about Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati during one of his performances. The clip has been widely circulated on social media and many have criticised Vir's statements for being casteist.
Singh stated in his complaint that Vir Das made “obscene, objectionable, insulting and humiliating remarks against Mayawati," further claiming that the remarks were ‘intended to insult to modesty of Mayawati within public view’ with the knowledge that she is “inspirational public figure and belongs to the Scheduled Caste community.”
The complaint further alleged, “The said objectionable video was made and published deliberately with mala-fide intent to insult the Scheduled Caste community.”
Singh urged that an FIR be lodged against comedian Vir Das under the provisions of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) and The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Singh shared a copy of the complaint on social media with the caption, “We have lodged a complaint against casteist and sexist @thevirdas. We will not tolerate any kind of humiliation of our bahujan leaders. He should be severely punished under SC/ST Act and under sexual offences against women.”
The clip in question features Vir Das at one of his performances. He says, “I don’t hate Mayawati because she looks like a man. I don’t hate Mayawati because she looks like a penguin with an Uttar Pradesh-i accent. I hate Mayawati because somewhere I saw Mayawati with a garland of money and that pissed me off.”
A social media user shared the clip on social media with the caption, “I come from an India where Vir Das makes the most inhumane casteist and sexist jokes about Mayawati and gets praised by upper-castes for being a woke feminist icon.”
In May, Randeep Hooda came under scrutiny for his casteist and sexist comments about Mayawati during a media event. Several social media users pointed out the Mayawati’s gender and caste identity play an important role in understanding the impact of the joke.
Vir Das is also embroiled in controversy over his performance of a poem 'Two Indias' at the Kennedy Center in USA. While many have applauded the comedian for depicting the duality of India, some have also taken offence to Vir allegedly defaming India in a foreign country.
However, netizens have questioned why the 'Two Indias' piece seemingly shies away from a conversation about caste.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)