Banker who attended Kunal Kamra's show summoned as witness, says Mumbai police
Mumbai (PTI): A banker who had attended Kunal Kamra's controversial show in the city was summoned as a witness after a case was registered against the comedian over his alleged jibes against Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, police said on Wednesday.
While the police later told the Navi Mumbai-based man that his presence was not needed immediately, Kamra took to social media to express regret over the inconvenience caused to him, and offered to "schedule your next vacation anywhere you'd like in India."
The comedian also shared a media report which said the banker had to cut short his vacation following the police summons.
On Tuesday, police had denied reports that members of the audience who had attended Kunal Kamra's show had been summoned to record their statements.
A summons was sent to the banker, who had booked a ticket for Kamra's show through the BookMyShow app, on his mobile phone on March 29, a senior police official said.
An FIR was registered against Kamra for alleged defamation at the Khar police station on March 28 on a complaint lodged by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel.
The banker was asked to be present as the police wanted to record statements of witnesses, the official said.
Before sending him a notice, the investigating officer had called the banker and asked him to visit the Khar police station, the official added.
But later, after certain developments in the case, the police called the banker again and told him that his appearance was not required immediately, the officer said, adding he could be called whenever his statement is necessary.
Kamra, on the other hand, seized on media reports about the banker having to cancel his vacation due to the police summons.
"I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience that attending my show has caused to you. Please email me so that I can schedule your next vacation anywhere you'd like in India," Kamra posted on X.
According to the reports, the man, who was to return from vacation on April 6, had to come back to Mumbai on Monday.
The case stems from a parody song performed by Kamra at a show in Mumbai which appeared to target Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena following his rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray, and call him a traitor. The song, though, did not name Shinde.
Angry Shiv Sena activists last month vandalised the studio where the show had been recorded.
On March 28, the Madras High Court granted interim anticipatory bail to the comedian. Justice Sunder Mohan also issued a notice to Khar police, and posted the matter to April 7 for further hearing.
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'Last rites' of INDIA bloc: BJP on Cong-DMK fallout in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress for extending support to Vijay's TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu and breaking away from its long term ally DMK, saying the party has a history of "betraying" its allies.
The saffron party also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming the alliance is "falling apart like a pack of cards" and lacks any common ideology or vision.
The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said.
The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the INDIA alliance had effectively come to an end after the declaration of assembly election results on May 4.
"There is nobody whom the Congress has not deceived. Imagine what they will do to the Samajwadi Party if they have done this to the DMK," he wrote in a post on X.
Calling it the "last rites" of the INDIA bloc, Poonawalla, in a video post, said, "It has become a Bharat free of the DMK, TMC and the Left, and now Congress has dumped the DMK for the TVK."
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the opposition bloc was formed solely out of political compulsions and personal ambitions.
"The INDI alliance never had any mission or vision. It was only about ambition for position, corruption, commission and obsession against Modi ji that they came together. But now it is all falling apart like a pack of cards," he said.
Questioning the unity of the opposition parties, Poonawalla said the alliance was absent in several states during the election.
"Where was the INDI alliance in Bengal, in Kerala, in Gujarat, in Punjab, in Delhi, in Haryana, in Karnataka? There is no INDI alliance," he said.
The DMK on Wednesday described the Congress move to extend support to TVK as a "backstab" by its long-time national ally.
Speaking to PTI videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, "The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging their support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu."
He said that the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded.
"Even before the ink on the returning officer's signature on the victory certificate dried up, they've chosen to go ahead with an alliance," he said.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat, and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
