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Kunal Kamra row: Aaditya Thackeray asks govt to exact damages from vandals
Members of Shinde's Shiv Sena on Sunday night ransacked the club in the Khar area as well as the hotel which houses the facility.
Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra minister, on Tuesday demanded that those who vandalised the Mumbai studio where comedian Kunal Kamra recorded his controversial show must be forced to pay for damages.
Kunal Kamra, during his show at the Habitat Comedy Club, made sarcastic comments targeting deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde over his political career and the 2022 rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray.
Members of Shinde's Shiv Sena on Sunday night ransacked the club in the Khar area as well as the hotel which houses the facility.
Thackeray said the Maharashtra government exacted damages from those involved in the Nagpur violence. He said similar action should be taken for those who attacked the studio.
"In Nagpur, whoever resorted to vandalism (during the March 17 violence) was asked to pay for the damage. Similarly, will the government ask those who resorted to vandalism (at Mumbai studio) to pay for the damage or else the message in the country will go that such acts are justified," Thackeray told reporters.
All you need to know about the Kunal Kamra row
On Monday, 12 members of the Shiv Sena, including an office-bearer, were arrested by police for vandalising the comedy show venue. They were released on bail.
On Monday night, a defiant Kunal Kamra said he wouldn't apologise to Eknath Shinde. "I will not apologise or hide under the bed waiting for the controversy to die down," he said in a statement.
Shinde said the comments – a parody targeting him – were comparable to "taking supari (or contract)" to speak against someone.
"There is freedom of speech. We understand satire. But there should be a limit. This is like taking a 'supari' (contract) to speak against someone," he said.
On the Shiv Sainiks vandalising the studio, Eknath Shinde said: “Action causes reaction. I will not speak much on this. I do not justify vandalism.”
With inputs from PTI
