Kamra shows up at Maha Assembly, next appearance on March 10

Stand-up comic Kunal Kamra and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Sushma Andhare appeared before the Privileges Committee of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly here on Tuesday in a case of singing a satirical parody song against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

“Since the original complainant, BJP leader Praveen Darekar was not present, the hearing of the case will be held on March 10, when Darekar and those accused will record their testimonies,” Privileges Committee Chairman and BJP leader Prasad Lad said.

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Kamra had sung a satirical parody song with the lyrics “Thane ki rickshaw, chehre pe dhaadi, aankhon pe chashma haai, ek jhalak dikhlaye kabhi Guwahati mein chhup jaaye, meri nazar se tum dekhho gaddaar nazar woh aaye, mantri nahi woh dal badloo hai aur kahaa kya jaaye, jis thali mein khaaye usme hi woh chhed kar jaaye, Mantralaye se jyaada Fadnavis ki godhi mein mil jaaye…” (Thane city’s auto rickshaw, beard on his face, glasses on his eyes, now you see him but he disappears in Guwahati, look at him through my eyes and you’ll see a traitor, he’s less of a minister and more of a defector, he drills a hole in the plate he eats from, he’s seen more on the lap of Fadnavis than in the state secretariat).

During a live stage performance in Mumbai, Kunal Kamra, who used to reside in Mumbai a few years ago, sang the satirical parody to the tune of the ‘Bholi Si Surat’ song from the 1997 Bollywood film ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’, which was perceived to be against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, though Shinde himself was never directly named in Kamra’s song, whose video went viral on social media.

Kamra was accused of using the word ‘gaddaar’ (traitor) in his satirical parody song to describe a politician widely assumed to be Eknath Shinde. Kamra’s song was perceived to be an indirect reference to Shinde’s rebellion and forming another political party after splitting the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena in 2022.

Allegedly, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Sushma Andhare also copied the song and sang it after which her performance went viral on social media. This led to BJP leader Praveen Darekar moving a motion of contempt against both Kunal Kamra and Andhare. Sources said that the Privileges Committee intends to grill Kamra about the lyrics of his song, its meaning as well as intentions behind singing the song.

Due to the motion moved by Praveen Darekar, Kunal Kamra who has been residing in Tamil Nadu since a few years now, came to Mumbai after a year and appeared before the infringement committee of the legislature here on Tuesday. Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Sushma Andhare too was also present but the original complainant BJP leader Praveen Darekar could not be present due to some reason. Therefore, the next hearing of this case will now be held on March 10.

Speaking to media persons here on Tuesday Kunal Kamra said, “I respect the Constitution. I appeared before the Violation of Rights Committee, but there was no hearing today. I will appear at the next hearing on March 10 as well. I will answer the charges leveled against me at that time”.

“Resorting to satirical criticism of anybody does not constitute an obstruction in the functioning of the Maharashtra state legislature. I have not interfered in the functioning of the legislature in any way through my song. It has only expressed my opinion using satire and art. If I have insulted the Chief Minister or Deputy Chief Minister with this song, my intention was not to insult the house or provoke its members,” Kamra said.

When media persons asked Kamra about whether he feels safe after Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena workers vandalized a studio and threatened to teach him a lesson, he said, “I am not afraid of any attack. Why should I say only what the rulers like? There are other people to do that”.

Replying to a question whether he would organise another performance in Mumbai, Kamra said, “I will definitely organize it”.