Comedian Munawar Faruqui’s Bangalore show cancelled, BJP protests his event in Hyderabad

Amid growing pressure from Hindu right wing groups, the Bangalore police late on Friday night denied permission to stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui’s show scheduled to be held on Saturday. This is his second show to be cancelled in the city.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) P. Krishnakanth said that the organisers had not sought permission, according to a report of the Indian Express.

Jai Shri Ram Sena, a Hindu right wing group, had lodged a complaint against the comedian and the organisers with police demanding cancellation of the show as the comedian allegedly “hurt the sentiments of Hindus”.

Last year, he was charged with hurting religious sentiments based on the complaint of the son of a BJP MLA and arrested even before the allegedly offensive show took place. The legislator had claimed that he overheard Faruqui passing “indecent remarks” about Hindu deities and Union home minister Amit Shah while rehearsing for an Indore show but could not submit proof of this, reported The Wire.

Nonetheless, Faruqui was arrested and put into jail for a month, along with others, before the Supreme Court granted him bail. The police action had been under severe criticism by opposition parties and legal experts.

“Comedy and satire are necessary to ensure a healthy democracy, as they facilitate the free communication of new ideas and critical thinking,” Director of PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection, Julie Trébault had said then.

However, the comedian’s Hyderabad show would continue as scheduled, said the sources, even as BJP, along with members of other right wing groups, is holding  protests against the event. The event is on Saturday evening. Meanwhile, a number of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers were detained in Hyderabad on Saturday afternoon.

According to a Hindustan Times report, people who had bought tickets for the show were allowed to enter the event venue at Shilpakala in Hitech City under the Madhapur police station limits under tight security. People were being told not to bring their phones and wallets inside the venue.

Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar has given a call to boycott Faruqui’s show. A day ago, a few BJP leaders, including MLA Raja Singh, were taken into preventive custody, for threatening to damage the venue and attack Faruqui if he performed in Hyderabad, as per media reports.