Kunal Kamra has become the centre of a new political row after two T-shirt posts this week drew accusations from BJP and Shiv Sena leaders that he mocked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Two days after uploading an image that many online commentators said appeared to take a jab at the RSS; the comedian on Wednesday shared a photograph wearing a T-shirt printed with “The Constitution of India” and an image of the document. “Outrage doesn’t run this country, the Constitution does…” he wrote.
The fresh post followed a Monday upload in which Kamra wore a T-shirt that several BJP and Shiv Sena supporters claimed insulted the Sangh. Within hours, the image had triggered coordinated online attacks and warnings of police action.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee reposted Kamra’s 24 November image on Wednesday, remarking: “Why do RSS followers think this T-shirt says RSS? Look carefully, it says PSS.”
Maharashtra minister and senior BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Tuesday warned that police action would follow. “The police would take action against anyone who puts out such objectionable posts,” he said, referring to Kamra’s post pairing a dog image with a reference to the RSS.
Shiv Sena cabinet minister Sanjay Shirsat framed the post as a deliberate provocation. “Earlier, he targeted Prime Minister Modi and Eknath Shinde, and now he has dared to directly attack the RSS. The BJP needs to respond to this,” he said.
He added that his party had earlier confronted Kamra over his comments on Shinde. “Now, he has mustered the courage to make an objectionable post against the RSS.”
Kamra’s clashes with political groups are not new. In March, a stand-up performance at Mumbai’s Habitat Studio led to violence after he altered the lyrics of a Bollywood song to mock Eknath Shinde, prompting vandalism by Yuva Sena members and multiple FIRs.
In a reference to that episode, Kamra said this week that his RSS-related photograph was “not clicked at a comedy club.”