The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has written a letter to Delhi Police seeking the cancellation of stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui’s show scheduled for August 28. The VHP said that the workers and Bajrang Dal will hold a protest if the show is not cancelled.
According to the letter written by Surendra Kumar Gupta, General Secretary, VHP, Faruqui is set to perform at the Kedarnath Stadium in Delhi’s Civic Centre on August 28. “This individual mocks Hindu gods and goddesses in his show.
As a result of this, communal tensions were triggered in Bhagya Nagar. We urge you to immediately cancel this show, or else, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal activists will oppose the show and hold protests against the same,” the letter in Hindi further read.
Faruqui was to perform in Bengaluru when the city police denied permission for the same scheduled for August 19. However, the day before the show, Faruqui said that it had been cancelled due to health reasons.
This was the second time that Faruqui’s show has been called off in Bengaluru, the first time in November last year. However, his show in Hyderabad last week was a success despite threats from right-wing groups.
On January 1, 2021, Faruqui performed a stand-up show at Munro Cafe in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, which was interrupted by Eklavya Singh Gaur, son of BJP MLA Malini Gaur, who accused him of making malicious jokes about Hindu deities and the Minister of Home Affairs of India, Amit Shah.
On January 2, 2021, he was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police in the midst of his comic act, stating that he was arrested under the Hate speech laws in India.
His arrest was heavily criticised for not respecting a comedian's freedom of speech, including by a joint initiative of the global Indian diaspora on February 2, 2021 that said a group of South Asian American stand-up comedians will perform a virtual comedy show on February 6, 2021 to show their solidarity with jailed Faruqui. He was subsequently granted bail by the Supreme Court of India.