"Elitists Hired As Paid Agents To Divert Attention": Shiv Sena MP On Kunal Kamra Row

Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora on Monday rebuked the comedian Kunal Kamra for distasteful display of humour and claimed that the political elites have "hired classist elitists as paid agents" like him to divert public attention from crucial issues, particularly the Disha Salian case.

His remarks come after Kamra mocked Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in his show, leading to an angry backlash from Shiv Sena workers.

Mr Deora said, "I can say this clearly, those who are entitled monarchists in Indian politics have, in a way, hired classist elitist people to do their work, to protect them, and to distract from the Disha Salian case. Her father has filed a petition, and to divert attention from that, they have hired such people."

While acknowledging the importance of comedy in democracy, Mr Deora distinguished between humor and elitism, emphasising the rise of leaders from humble backgrounds.

"We take pride in the fact that the Deputy Chief Minister of India's second-largest state was once an auto-rickshaw driver. We take pride that Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy was once a tea seller. But the language Kamra used exposes him as a paid agent," he added.

Mr Deora also reacted to Congress party's defence of Kamra's right to free speech.

Questioning their selective outrage, he asked, "I want to ask Congress and opposition leaders, what did the Chief Minister of Telangana say recently? He said journalists should be stripped and beaten publicly. Did Congress react to that? When Aditya Thackeray's father was CM, what did he do for Kangana Ranaut's safety when she was just a Bollywood actress, not an MP? What did they do to journalists critical of them? They demolished Kangana's office. Such people have no right to speak about democracy and the Constitution."

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena workers barged Mumbai's Habitat Studio, where Kamra was performing, and vandalised the venue. The police later summoned them for questioning.

"Meri nazar se tum dekho toh, gaddar nazar wo aaye. Haaye," Kunal Kamra said during his show, an apparent taunt at Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, using modified version of Hindi song from "Dil To Pagal Hai", eliciting laughter from the audience.

The comedian shared the video clip on the social networking platform X. Kunal Kamra was apparently alluding to Eknath Shinde's 2022 rebellion, which led to the split of Shiv Sena into two -- E Shinde faction and Uddhav Thackeray faction.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)