Days After Munawar Faruqui, Comedian Kunal Kamra Says His Shows Cancelled

"We can find solace in the fact that the ruling class is at least trying to oppress with equality," Kunal Kamra said.

Popular comedian Kunal Kamra's shows scheduled for the next 20 days in Bangalore have been cancelled, he informed in a Tweet from his official account. In a sarcastic post announcing the news on the microblogging site, he said the official reason for the sudden move was the denial of permission to seat 45 people at the venue, which he claims can accomodate more than that number. The other reason, he said, was threats made to the organisers that the venue would be shut down if he was ever to perform there. It is not clear yet who made these threats. "I guess this is also part of the Covid protocol and new guidelines. I suppose I am seen as a variant of the virus now," he said.  Cancelling comedy shows 101.???????????? pic.twitter.com/fN0U7N8QrX

This comes days after comedian Munawar Faruqui indicated he may not do any more shows, after at least 12 of his shows were cancelled in the last two months due to threats from right-wing groups. Mr Faruqui had also spent a month in jail earlier this year on charges of "insulting Hindu gods and goddesses" during one of his comedy shows. He had earlier this month told NDTV there was nothing problematic in his content. He had said up to 80 people including drivers, volunteers and guards earn a living from a single show.

Mr Kamra also referred to social media posts comparing him with Mr Faruqui that had suggested that the latter was forced to quit comedy because of his religion while the former can continue doing shows. "We can find solace in the fact that the ruling class is at least trying to oppress with equality," he said.