A day after a bar in Gurugram decided to cancel the stand-up comedy show of comedian Kunal Kamra, after Hindutva outfits threatened to protest and disrupt the event if it was not cancelled, the comedian reacted to it and on Saturday, 10 September, said in a satiric tweet, "12 of us don’t want the show to happen & 500 have got tickets to watch it, so what should the authorities do? (UPSC question 10 marks)."
On Friday, members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal had written a letter to the deputy commissioner, in which they had called Kamra "anti-Hindu" and said that he "mocks and makes fun of Hindu deities in his show."
Cancelling the show, Studio Xo Bar's General Manager Sahil Dawra had said, "We have decided to cancel the show. I do not want any trouble. Two men from Bajrang Dal had come and they threatened to disrupt the show. They objected to the show and said that they will not allow the show to happen," The Indian Express reported.
Kamra also reacted to the same on Instagram and said, "They'll get tired one day or I'll be irrelevant, don't know which one will be sooner."
The general manager of the bar also said that he did not want to put his company at risk and that he had not lodged any police complaint regarding the matter.
'Kamra Is Anti-Hindu, Mocks Hindu Gods During Shows': VHP's Letter
The letter by the VHP read, "An FIR has also been filed against him earlier in this regard. A tense situation may arise in Gurgaon due to this show."
They also said that members of the Hindutva outfits would protest if the shows were to go ahead.
"In the name of freedom of speech, some artists want to destroy art completely. We will not let him (Kamra) perform anywhere. We will protest democratically and teach such people that Hindu sentiments must be respected," VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal said.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)