The Shiv Sena (Ubatha) on Wednesday questioned the sabotage of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who was excited by the controversial jokes of Comedian Kunal Kamra, citing the comment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described the criticism of ‘criticism as the soul of democracy’. Kamra allegedly made controversial remarks targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Shinde.
The editorial of the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ stated that Kamra’s ‘Parodi’ song had only pointed to Shinde’s rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray’s leadership in 2022 and it was an ‘old liquor in the new bottle’, yet the Deputy Chief Minister’s supporters sabotaged a studio in Mumbai on Sunday.
This rebellion led to a partition in the Shiv Sena and in 2022 the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Thackeray fell in the state. After this, Shinde joined hands with BJP and formed a new government.
The editorial of Saamana stated that 40 MLAs in Maharashtra defeated, for the formation of a ‘unconstitutional’ government. According to this, the episode was widely publicized which resulted in a legal battle in the Supreme Court.
Marathi Prakashan said, “Slogans of ‘Khokke’ (using money) echoed across the state. Kunal Kamra has repeated it in only one parody song, so what is new in it? This is an ‘old wine in the new bottle’. “
Still Shinde’s supporters became so excited that he attacked the studio (where Kamra’s show was filmed). The editorial claims, “This reaction not only embarrassed Shinde, but also made him a subject of ridicule in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Fadnavis are quietly enjoying the spectacle. ‘
According to Saamana, it is unfortunate that Maharashtra has been dragged into this ‘spectacle’. Marathi Dainik recalled Prime Minister Modi’s recent statement in Podcast that “criticism is the soul of democracy”.
The editorial states, “Even before his words resonated, the Modi supporter Shinde Group attacked the podcast studio and damaged it, which is a strike on the basis of freedom of expression.” Death threats against Kamra were threatened, which has created serious concerns about law and order in Maharashtra. ‘
It questioned what Maharashtra’s Home Minister (Fadnavis) was doing? Where was the police when anarchy spread in Mumbai? Was he a mute spectator, or worse, participated in this act?
It said that as soon as the ‘pro -Modi supporter Shinde Group’ vandalized the studio, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation quickly reached there with bulldozers and demolished many structures as illegal. It said, “The Municipal Corporation realized these violations when the studio was used to criticize the government.” The picture is very bad in terms of Maharashtra. ”
The editorial also asked why there should be such an ‘extreme response’ to satire and why an atmosphere of chaos and fear should be created in Mumbai. The editorial claimed, “It is clear that Fadnavis is a weak Home Minister. Instead of taking action against those attacking the studios, he is asking Kamra to apologize to Shinde, who essentially underlines that freedom of expression does not exist. ”
It said, “The irony is that Fadnavis’s father fought and went to jail during the Emergency (the then Prime Minister) Indira Gandhi.”
Marathi Prakashan said that BJP leaders celebrate June 26 as ‘Black Day’ in memory of Emergency.
The editorial said, “If they continue to press the disagreement, they should stop showing the show of Black Day on 26 June.” Shinde’s supporters were accused of hypocrisy that they targeted Kamra, but (journalist) Prashant Koratkar remained silent on the alleged Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and her son.
Marathi Dainik asked, “Has the BJP given the freedom of expression to Koratkar to insult Shivaji Maharaj?”
