“Continuing to facilitate ticket sales for his events could be perceived as an endorsement of his divisive rhetoric which may have serious repercussions for public sentiment and order in the city,” the party had said in its earlier communication to the website.
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Saturday thanked BookMyShow.com for removing Kunal Kamra from its sales and promotion listings and keeping their portal “clean”. The party said that the ticket booking website has removed Kamra from the history list of artists.
After Mr. Kamra’s parody song in which he called Maharashtra deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde “traitor”, the party has been targeting the stand-up comedian through various means. Shiv Sena workers had ransacked the Habitat Studio, where Mr. Kamra had recorded the controversial song. Its MLA Murji Patel has filed a police case against him under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including 353(1) (b) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation). The party had also urged BookMyShow to remove all content of Mr. Kamra and not to promote his shows.
“Continuing to facilitate ticket sales for his events could be perceived as an endorsement of his divisive rhetoric which may have serious repercussions for public sentiment and order in the city,” the party had said in its earlier communication to the website.
Shiv Sena youth leader Rahool N Kanal claimed that the website has delisted Mr. Kamra from all its sections. In a letter addressed to BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani, Mr. Kanal said, “I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for your continued support of your team to take the said artist out of your sale and promotion listing, thank you for even taking him out of the BookMyShow search history. Your belief in maintaining peace and at the same time respecting our emotions has been instrumental.”
Mr. Kamra also asked BookMyShow to clarify if he can still list his shows on the website. “Hello @bookmyshow can you please confirm if I have your platform to list my shows… If not, it’s fine. I understand…” he posted on his X handle.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kamra also skipped the third summons sent to him by the Mumbai police asking him to remain present at Khar police station on Saturday.
The Shiv Sena has alleged that Mr. Kamra received funds from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) to target Mr. Shinde. The comedian called Mr. Shinde “gaddar” (traitor), which is also used by Uddhav Thackeray ever since Mr. Shinde split the party and claimed its name and symbol.
Defending Mr. Kamra, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “What crime has he committed? Has he committed a murder or treason? Has the ED, CBI issued a lookout notice against him? He did a programme which was not acceptable to some people. There is freedom of expression.”
