Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra unleashed a scathing attack on mainstream media on Thursday (Mar 27), accusing it of acting as a mouthpiece for the ruling party.
He labeled the media “vultures” that report on insignificant issues, diverting attention from pressing concerns.
“To all those hounding for a quote – “The mainstream media at this point is nothing but a miscommunication arm of the ruling party. They are vultures who report on issues that don’t matter to the people of this country. If they all shut shop from tomorrow till eternity, they will be doing a favour to the country, its people, & their own children,” Kamra posted on X.
Kamra recently courted controversy when he made jokes about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, labelling him a “traitor” and performing a parody about him.
‘Not against law to poke fun at our leaders’
Kamra strongly denounced the demolition of Mumbai’s Habitat Comedy Club, where his recent performance sparked protests from Shinde’s supporters.
In a post on X, Kamra said that the entertainment venue is “merely a platform” and that the studio was not responsible for his comedy.
“An entertainment venue is merely a platform. A space for all sorts of shows. Habitat (or any other venue) is not responsible for my comedy, nor does it have any power or control over what I say or do. Neither does any political party. Attacking a venue for a comedian’s words is as senseless as overturning a lorry carrying tomatoes, because you didn’t like the butter chicken you were served,” Kamra said.
He then said that the right to freedom of speech was “not only to be used to fawn over the powerful and rich, even though today’s media would have us believe otherwise”.
“Your inability to take a joke at the expense of a powerful public figure does not change the nature of my right. As far as I know, it is not against the law to poke fun at our leaders and the circus that is our political system,” the comedian said.
Kamra said that he was ready to cooperate with the police and the courts for any lawful action against him, emphasizing that the law “be fairly and equally deployed” against those who “decided that vandalism is the appropriate response to being offended by a joke.”
(With inputs from agencies)