I am a ‘bigger Hindu’ than VHP, says stand-up comic Kunal Kamra
The Hindu
The stand-up comic says he doesn’t earn his living through ‘fear mongering’ and ‘threatening people’
In an open letter written to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Sunday, September 11, 2022, stand-up comic Kunal Kamra claimed that he was a "bigger Hindu" than the VHP and that he doesn't earn his living through "fear mongering" and "threatening people".
The letter, written in Hindi, comes days after Mr. Kamra's show, scheduled to take place at a Gurugram bar was cancelled following threats by right-wing organisations. He was scheduled to perform on September 17 and 18 at Studio Xo bar in Sector 29, Gurugram. In his letter, Mr. Kamra challenged the VHP to condemn Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse or else they would be perceived as "anti-Hindu".
"I chant 'Jai Sita Ram' and 'Jai Radha Krishna' loudly with pride. If you are the children of India, write and send messages of 'Godse Murdabad'. If you don't then you will be perceived as anti-Hindu and terrorism supporters," Mr. Kamra wrote in the letter.
Mr. Kamra went on to claim that if the VHP considers Godse as god, then they can keep getting his shows cancelled in the future too. "I will be happy to have emerged as a bigger Hindu than you in this test. I'll at least eat from my hard-earned bread since I'm a bigger Hindu than you. It is a sin to live off scraps by threatening and spreading fear," the letter said.
On the right-wing bodies' claim that he makes fun of Hindu gods and goddesses in his comic acts, Mr. Kamra asked the groups to produce evidence that he mocks Hindu gods and goddesses. "If there is any such clip, show it to me too. I only mock the government. If you are a government lackey, then it makes sense for you getting hurt," he wrote in his letter.
Both the VHP and the Bajrang Dal on Friday submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav, asking for calling off the show. In the memorandum, they claimed that Mr. Kamra "makes fun of gods and goddesses in his show, which is wrong". He also added that he didn't blame the bar owner for cancelling the show as he had to run his business and can't go around "dealing with goons".
In yet another attempt to reserve C and D group jobs in the private sector to locals, the Karnataka government is proposing to bring 100% job reservation for Kannadigas in these categories and 5% reservation for persons with disabilities in private sector industries that have received benefits from the State.