Lok Sabha: Shiv Sena MP demands ban on comedy platforms promoting hate speech, creating tension
New Delhi (PTI): Amid a raging controversy over comic Kunal Kamra's remarks on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena member Dhairyasheel Mane on Tuesday demanded in the Lok Sabha that stand-up comedy platforms that promote hate speech and create tension in society should be banned.
Mane said that some people are running their political agenda through stand-up comedians.
Participating in the discussion on Finance Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha, the Sena MP demanded that there should be some policy or framework wherein comedians can be allowed to criticise policies and not indulge in making personal remarks against individuals.
Without taking the name of Kamra, he said in the last two days, people would have seen on TV that "one joker whose mind is empty" is making irresponsible comments against Shiv Sena leader and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
"I demand that such platforms which promote hate speech or create tension in society should be banned," Mane said.
Kamra kicked up a major political storm in Maharashtra for taking a jibe at Shiv Sena leader Shinde's political career in his show.
The 36-year-old stand-up comedian had performed a parody of a popular Hindi song from the film "Dil Toh Pagal Hai," apparently referring to Shinde as a "gaddar" (traitor). He also joked about recent political developments in Maharashtra, including the Shiv Sena and NCP splits.
On Sunday night, Shiv Sena members damaged the Habitat Comedy Club in Mumbai's Khar area, where Kamra's show took place, as well as a hotel on whose premises the club is located.
An unfazed Kamra has said he will not apologise for his comments about Shinde and criticised the acts of vandalism.
Shinde has likened Kamra's jibe at him to taking "supari" (contract) to speak against someone, and said there should be decorum while making a satire, otherwise "action causes a reaction".
Freedom of speech is there, but there should be a limit, Shinde said on Monday reacting to Kamra's comments.
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Man kills woman lecturer, sets car ablaze; dies by suicide in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): A 46-year-old man allegedly killed a woman lecturer by setting fire to the car with her inside, before dying by suicide; his severed body was found by railway police the next day, police said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Ramanjinappa, a resident of Doddaballapura, was a contract worker in the tahsildar’s office, they said.
Police said the man, who was married and had apparently separated from his wife, was in an illicit relationship with a woman identified as Saroja, whose charred body was found inside a gutted car in an isolated area near the Bashetty Industrial Area in Doddaballapura taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Saroja was also married and had a son, police said.
According to police, on Saturday, the man allegedly borrowed a car from an acquaintance, claiming he had a medical emergency and needed to visit a hospital.
Citing preliminary investigations, a senior police officer said the man picked up the lecturer from a bus stop in Devanahalli. The two spent a couple of hours driving around Nandi Hills and nearby areas.
Later, they reached a secluded spot in Doddaballapura, where it is suspected that an argument ensued inside the car, following which he allegedly hit her on the head with a hammer, the officer said.
He then set the car on fire, reportedly using petrol, and is believed to have died by suicide thereafter, police said.
Locals who saw the burning car alerted the police and fire department, who rushed to the spot, extinguished the fire, and found the woman’s body completely charred inside the vehicle, the officer added.
His severed body was found near railway tracks in Bidadi by the railway police on Sunday, he said.
The motive and whether the crime was premeditated or impulsive are under investigation, he said.
Saroja’s husband filed a complaint accusing Ramanjinappa of killing her, police said, adding that a detailed investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events.
