Kamra will receive Shiv Sena-style welcome when he comes to Mumbai, says party functionary

Mumbai: Shiv Sena functionary Rahool Kanal on Monday said comedian Kunal Kamra, who kicked up a political row for taking a jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, will be welcomed in "Shiv Sena-style" when he comes to Mumbai, where he has been summoned by the police in a case registered against him.

During his performance at the Habitat Comedy Club at the Unicontinental Hotel in the Khar area, Kamra had referred to Shinde as a “traitor” without naming him and went on to sing a parody on him.

Kanal and 11 other Shiv Sainiks were arrested on March 23 after they ransacked the studio where Kamra performed his stand-up act.

Deputy Chief Minister Shinde is the president of the Shiv Sena.

Talking to reporters here, Kanal said the party has written to the Mumbai police demanding a probe against the comedian under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) over foreign funding and unaccounted money.

"Those running away from the law are guilty. Kunal Kamra will be welcomed in Shiv Sena style when he comes to Mumbai," he said.

"We will not change our stand because his (Kamra's) stand also remains unchanged," Kanal said, alluding to the party's old style of staging protests.

He further claimed that the Tamil Nadu police were providing protection to Kamra.

The Mumbai police had summoned Kamra to appear before it on March 31 in a case related to derogatory remarks against Shinde.

Last week, the Madras High Court granted interim anticipatory bail to the comedian on the condition that he execute a bond to the satisfaction of the judicial magistrate at Vanur in Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu.

Kamra had submitted he moved to Tamil Nadu from Mumbai in 2021 and was “ordinarily a resident of this State since then” and he feared arrest by Mumbai police.