In this episode of Newstrack, we delve into the escalating face-off between comedian Kunal Kamra and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
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00:00Good evening and welcome. You're watching The News Track. I'm Rahul Kamal.
00:03The big free speech round table is my top focus on The News Track tonight.
00:11Comedy sparks controversy.
00:21Kamra versus Shinde escalates.
00:30Free speech debate reignites.
00:54Is satire defamation?
01:00Should comics be accountable for content?
01:22Who's taking the joke too far? That is our big focus on News Track.
01:30We'll have voices from across the spectrum on The News Track tonight.
01:34Before we get started, let me take you through the headlines I'm tracking tonight.
01:39Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde claims conspiracy behind Kunal Kamra's satire.
01:45The comedian, though doubles down, says he will not
01:49apologize. Seeks one week's time to appear before the courts.
02:03Supreme Court appointed panel visits Delhi High Court Judge Varma's residence where a pile of
02:09cash was found. Allahabad High Court Bar Association goes on a strike against Varma's transfer.
02:20BJP launches Savgate Modi. Eid gets 32 lakh underprivileged Muslims to benefit.
02:27Opposition calls it a poll giving.
02:33Big revelation in the Karnataka starlet smuggling scandal. Anti-smuggling agency
02:38says accused Rania Rao has confessed to buying gold with Hawala money.
02:43Probe report reveals airport security protocols were flouted at her DGP father's behest.
02:54BJP demands ban on meat and liquor shops in Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir during Navratri.
03:00Calls for curbs. Sparks a political showdown.
03:05The Kunal Kamra vs Eknath Shinde face-off is escalating with both sides doubling down.
03:16The stand-up comic has declared he will not apologize. The Maharashtra deputy chief minister
03:21says Kamra took a supari for the satire. The entire saga has put the spotlight on
03:27free speech once again. Who's taking the joke too far?
03:34A satirical take snowballs into a political slugfest.
03:39Comic Kunal Kamra and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde in the eye of the storm.
03:45Eknath Shinde claims conspiracy alleging Kamra took supari to make the remarks against him in
03:51the comedy special. Saying every action has a reaction. Shinde says it's sentiment that
03:59led Shiv Sena workers to vandalize the comedy club where Kamra performed in February.
04:07The comedian is defiant. Kamra refuses to apologize.
04:11Claiming he made the same comment Ajit Pawar made on Shinde earlier
04:15and he has the right to poke fun at netas.
04:29The Habitat studio, the venue of Kamra's show was targeted by Shiv Sena workers on Sunday.
04:39Kamra condemned the vandalism unleashed by the Sena workers but reiterated he's not afraid.
04:52The Maharashtra government is doubling down on the comedian.
04:56The BMC continued its crackdown on Habitat pulling down alleged illegal portions of the building.
05:01The comedian is defiant. Kamra refuses to apologize.
05:24As a comedian we also enjoy comedy. I enjoy Veer Das, I enjoy
05:30in my childhood I enjoyed Pula Deshpande but this is not kind of comedy which will be tolerated in
05:35Maharashtra. Kamra's satire and its backlash has triggered a war of words between the BJP
05:42and the Maharashtra Vikas Aghari.
06:00Do you stand by that?
06:13Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too hit out at the comic
06:17claiming freedom of speech can't be misused to insult others or divide.
06:29But it can't be used to attack an individual. It's unfortunate that some people have taken
06:36the freedom of this individual as their birthright to divide the country.
06:45The comedian has now been summoned by the Mumbai police but he sought a week's time to appear.
06:52With Divya H Singh in Mumbai, Bureau Report, India Today.
07:00Kunal Kamra says he will not apologize and why should he? Crack the joke, that's what comedians do.
07:05Shinde doesn't seem to get the joke and many of those in power particularly in Maharashtra
07:13seem quite outraged. Now where does one draw the line and if every comedian starts self-censoring
07:21then what's the future of stand-up comics at all in this country? Why make this such a hassle?
07:30Shouldn't netas just have the ability to laugh at a joke or even if they don't like it just look
07:34the other way or conversely has Kamra gone too far? Joining us to talk about this on the broadcast
07:40I want to welcome Rajiv Nigam, he's a writer and a humorist and satirist. I have Kushal Mehra,
07:45he's the host of the Karvaka podcast. I have Nasir Abdullah on this broadcast,
07:51he's a well-known actor. I have Rasik Chopra, he's a comedian. I have Advaita Akala joining us,
07:57screenwriter, author and I have Professor Anand Ranganathan joining us on this broadcast. I want
08:02to start by asking Professor Ranganathan about what he thinks of Kunal Kamra's jokes,
08:0945 minutes long, nobody particularly pays attention to him ordinarily except because
08:16of the manner in which Maharashtra politicians particularly Ek Nachin they have reacted.
08:19Now everybody is going and looking at that clip, looking at that video giving Kunal Kamra much more
08:25airtime and mind space than he would have got. Have our Netas really scored a self-goal here or
08:30do you think Kamra went too far? Anand Ranganathan. Good evening Rahul and good evening to my fellow
08:36panelists. Look first of all I unequivocally condemn the violence, intimidation and vandalism
08:42that followed Kunal Kamra's show and let me also say this in going after him or arresting him,
08:49all what the state would be doing is to become another Kunal Kamra. The state has to be better
08:54than that. Democracy should always be better than its delinquents and in Kamra versus state,
09:00if I can term it that way, there are two entities and both merit going into briefly. Rahul, look
09:06as a free speech absolutist I am fundamentally against the state stifling free speech of a
09:11citizen through force, coercion, threat or by quoting the constitution. Kamra who now foolishly
09:18is brandishing a copy of the constitution like Rahul Gandhi doesn't even know that the first
09:22amendment of it brought by the dictator Nehru is what is responsible for curving free speech
09:27in this country. The reality is Rahul that we don't have a constitution that respects dissent.
09:32We have laws and articles and amendments that rather than protect the rights of the dissenter,
09:37protect those who violate his rights. Everything is grey, everything is subject to something,
09:42everything is primed for offending religious or someone sensibilities. Rahul, if I am not in jail
09:48right now, it is because the state has decided that I need not be jailed. Truth be told, the
09:54hate that some have towards free speech absolutist like me is like the hate believers have towards
09:59Darwinian atheists. There is even a psychiatric term for it, guilt of inadequacy. They feel
10:06embarrassed at being irrational and therefore inadequate believing, for example, in flying
10:10horses and immaculate conception when science tells you that is impossible. And because the
10:14fear of being exposed as hypocrites, they label free speech as a utopian concept. Opponents of
10:20free speech are believers of the grey because that lets them follow in their hypocrisy.
10:24A free speech absolutist never condemns or punishes anyone for being hateful or offending
10:30religious or other sensibilities for the simple reason that who decides what is offensive,
10:36who decides what is sensible, who decides what is hate. How can freedom be subject to anything?
10:41Now, let me quickly come to Kunal, the hypocrite. He calls Shinde a traitor, but not Udhav,
10:48who spitting at the founding principles of Shiv Sena formed an alliance with arch political
10:53realmies, Congress and the NCP just to get power. So that's not treachery. But Shinde restoring
10:59Shiv Sena's first principles is. Kunal is a coward because a stand-up who should be standing up for
11:04the rights and free speech of citizens is right now hiding and lying low in a state that arrests,
11:10dissenters, activists, journalists, publishers, a drop of a hat. He never dares open his mouth
11:14against the DMK when it arrests YouTubers because they conduct a controversial interview
11:18against the Congress. When a man is arrested for merely calling a politician penguin
11:23against the TMC, when a professor is arrested for sharing a Mamata cartoon and acquitted after 11
11:28years. So according to these rent-a-penny stand-ups who say they speak truth to power,
11:33truth to power, only Modi is in power. Kejriwal, Mamata, Stalin and Vijay are not in power.
11:38Kamra has a constituency Rahul and feeds it and is fed through it. He constantly mocks Hinduism
11:44and Hindus, but deleted all his jokes on Islam and Muslims. Kamra enjoys the suffering of others
11:49at the hands of the state, even as he wants them to protest against his suffering at the hands of
11:55the state. He enjoyed the persecution of Nupur for merely quoting Hadiths just 10 seconds.
11:59And not only did he not stand up for Kangana Ranaut when the might of the state bulldozed
12:04property to Avenger remarks, Kamra actually mocked her suffering, took sadistic pleasure
12:08at the state's illegal barbarity, boasting that he enjoyed watching the bulldozing. But as I said,
12:14the state must not become Kamra. It needs to protect Kunals and not go after them.
12:19True test of a liberal democracy, Rahul, is standing up for illiberal marauders of
12:24common sense like Kunal Kamra. You've set up the preamble for this debate
12:29saying the state should not do what Kamra did. But isn't Kamra Rasik Chopra entitled to his
12:34opinion? You may like him, you may dislike him. He has a certain point of view politically.
12:38Be that as it may, why should studio be vandalized? Why should he have to hide in
12:44Puducherry? He's there because he wants to be at this moment. Why should he have to face this FIR?
12:50Hey Rahul, good evening. Good evening to everyone else. Yeah, look, I think if saying something
12:55offensive and deeply hurtful was a crime, then most parents would be required to send their
12:59teenagers to jail. And now look, I get it. If you're in power and you're on the receiving end
13:05of a joke that's hurtful, that's not nice for anyone to experience, right? But I get it because
13:10I've spent hundreds of hours on stage trying to make people laugh. And if there's 999 people in
13:16that audience who are laughing and there's one guy who's not, it takes everything in me not to
13:20focus on that one guy, right? Even though I know in that moment by focusing on that one guy,
13:24I'm not serving the 999 people who actually value what I'm doing. Now, if you're a politician,
13:30I get it. It's really hard. I couldn't be a politician, right? It must be really hard to
13:33get elected. It must be really hard to show up every day and do work and still have all these
13:37people criticizing you. I get it, right? But I think you're in power in what I believe is one
13:42of the greatest countries in the world. And if you focus on the 999 people who value what you're
13:47doing, then our country can be even greater. So, I think what anyone should do when they hear a
13:52joke that they don't like is do what my daughter does when I tell her a bad dad joke. She just says
13:56dad and then she ignores me. And I think that's what you have to do with jokes.
14:00Now, that's an important point you make and I want to put that to Kushal Mehra because it doesn't
14:03matter what anybody watching this broadcast really thinks of Kunal Kamra's jokes. The question is,
14:08do you think that he should be charged with an FIR or should you just look away and say,
14:13if you really like what he cracked, then just laugh? And if not, just look the other way.
14:17Why go after him with the full force of the law?
14:21Yeah, good evening Rahul and good evening to everyone else. My stand has been very consistent
14:26when it comes to free speech. I believe free speech is not meant for things that you like
14:30to hear. It's actually meant for things that you don't like to hear. I'm not a fan of Kunal Kamra.
14:36I've actually blocked him a long time ago and I kind of share Anand's sentiments
14:41when it comes to Kunal Kamra. But what worries me in this entire episode,
14:45that there is a trend in India, right from the day of Nehru, as Anand rightfully pointed out,
14:51that it was Jawaharlal Nehru who got in the First Amendment. And other than Shyama Prasad Mukherjee,
14:57nobody really has supported free speech in India. Even the current BJP does not really stand for
15:02free speech like Shyama Prasad Mukherjee did. The deification of politicians in this country
15:08is a very concerning trend for me. Now we just keep on, you know, adding to the list of deities
15:14that cannot be criticized in this country. And the politicians are the latest deities in this
15:20country that you just cannot mock them. And if we are going down this line, I don't know who else is
15:24there. Either the political class of this country should get together and give us a list as to what
15:29we can mock, what we can't mock, which leads to hurt sentiments, which does not lead to hurt
15:35sentiments. Then maybe everybody, whether it's me as a podcaster, whether there are other comics or
15:41anybody, right, satirists, then they know what's the road they have been given. Here the problem
15:46is the Constitution says subject to public morality, reasonable restrictions. And then if nothing
15:52works, a mob comes and just smashes up your hotel. I just don't understand what the Habitat did. The
15:57Habitat sin was they platformed the place. Well, planet Earth platformed the Habitat.
16:02So I don't know what's happening.
16:06Advaita Kala, you know, Eknath Shinde hasn't been called a traitor the first time.
16:11He's been called a traitor by Uddhav Thackeray. He gets called a traitor by Sanjay Rao, by Aditya
16:17Thackeray, day in, day in and day out. Nobody files an FIR against them. Kunal Kamra cracks
16:23that same old political joke and he has the full face, full fury of the law coming after him.
16:29Right, Rahul, at least, you know, we know that he lacks originality, if nothing else.
16:36I think, you know, he's certainly, you know, somebody who does weaponize politics and rather,
16:43let me reverse that, he weaponizes standard, you know, stand-up comedy to make political points.
16:48He does that very often. So I think we shouldn't be deluded by what he does and what he's attempting
16:55to do. And I would also like to say he has every right to do that. So that's where it's at. You
17:00know, you can pretty much call out what he's doing, which is weaponizing stand-up comedy,
17:05essentially a political hit job. Hasn't said anything worse than politicians say to each
17:10other. But is it something that he should be, you know, facing an FIR for? No, I don't think so.
17:17Is it something that he should be facing jail time for? No, I don't think so. Are we kind of
17:22elevating him to some kind of comedy gold material because of this? I think it's ridiculous.
17:27I mean, in Chennai right now, you had some people barge into a YouTuber's home and attack his
17:34old mother, you know, pour sewage. And we're not talking about that. We're talking about this
17:40particular instance of a public space. But we're not talking about something that's happened in
17:45the same time frame. In fact, more recently, inside somebody's home. So I think this kind
17:50of selective outrage that we also have is problematic. And here's the thing, you know,
17:56I mean, this is we live in the attention economy. We live in the outrage economy. Kunal Kamra,
18:02we haven't heard from him in a long time. And the first time we hear from him is because of this,
18:08not because of comedy, not because of the material he's using, but the fact that he's
18:13gone ahead and shown a red rag to people who are very, very happy to spot a red rag
18:19and have been known to do this. No, but you know, what I don't understand is there are jokes
18:25in that same clip against Prime Minister Modi. There are jokes against billionaires.
18:31Nobody else seems to have reacted. It's only Eknath Shinde who got all worked up. Rajiv
18:35Nigam, what do you make of it? You know, it's not as if Eknath Shinde has not been called a
18:39traitor earlier. There are jokes and arguably worse jokes about others. They seem to have
18:45ignored it. It's only Eknath Shinde and people around him who seem very charged up.
19:16But there should be a tolerance. Our Prime Minister always says that we like criticism a lot.
19:23I want people to criticize me. Modi has said this many times. So this criticism is also very
19:31important for our democracy. But the thing to understand is how you receive that criticism.
19:37Rajiv, respond to what you are hearing from the likes of Anand Ranganathan and from Advaita
19:58Khalla that this is his bent of mind that if he has a particular political position,
20:03if he's going to constantly attack the same worldview, then there will be a pushback.
20:08Because ultimately, he went on Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra. He's been advocating a certain
20:14set of causes. And therefore, it's only natural that there will be a pushback. He's got some
20:18politics. Those with opposite politics will naturally be unhappy with him.
20:22So what? Maybe.
21:52No, but that's an important point. That's an important point Rajiv Nigam makes.
22:05Because the fact is Nasir Abdullah, nobody really knows what that fine line is. To what extent can
22:11someone like a Kunal Kamra crack a joke? Why should he back off? Because there is no...
22:15And with humor, how can there be a clearly defined line? It's really for Netas, in my view,
22:20to have a thicker skin and to be able to laugh off some of these jokes without having to react
22:24in this fashion. Yeah, we will get to the fine line later. But what I'm saying is Kunal Kamra
22:32has refused to apologize. So here is the truth about Mr. Kamra. He has apparently spoken the
22:41truth. There was some kind of conspiracy to disclose the Uddhav Thakur government, etc.
22:48So why should one have to apologize for having spoken the truth if it was the truth and was
22:54spoken by many other people and the Janata as a whole knows all about it? Okay, that is one thing
23:01I want to say. Are we allowed to speak the truth? We speak of Satyameva Jayate and May Truth
23:08Prevail. So in a comedy thingy, he has said his bit. What is the big deal? They should be able to
23:14take it in their life. Okay, this is the way politics works. People are bought off, people
23:18go to the other side. That's another story. But the other side of the matter is that the BJP folks
23:25and other folks have really distributed, you know, they're always after Nehru, Nehru. The poor guy
23:33died in 1964. They are still calling him a dictator and all that. Never mind. But what I'm
23:38saying is they are constantly ridiculing the people from the Congress party. For example,
23:45Mr. Pramod Mahajan 20 years ago called Sonia Gandhi the Monica Lewinsky of India. Very shameful
23:55sort of a thing to say because we know what she was all about. She was young enough to be the
24:00daughter of President Clinton at that time. There was a big scandal. But to equate Sonia Gandhi,
24:08and they do that and they get away. But we can't say because we are not in power. We are soft
24:13targets. If he has spoken the truth, it is the truth. And you say it's okay. Yeah, this happens
24:18in politics. We do this stuff. We move over. We have to be protected. We have to be kidnapped.
24:23We have to be open. Whatever happens. It's a fact it happened. So why should he apologize
24:28for having spoken? The truth is my question. Really?
24:32Anand Ranganathan, in your opening comments, you alluded to Kunal Kamra's political point of view.
24:39The fact is, should that matter? I mean, he has a very clear set of politics. Shouldn't people be
24:45able to disregard that? I mean, ignore him, listen to him, maybe even protest or tweet or comment
24:51against him. How does it matter? You know, and you made that point that an FIR is not okay,
24:55but it almost seems as if he's being targeted by those in power in Maharashtra because they
25:01don't like his politics. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, he has a very clear political stand. He's,
25:09you know, sympathetic or indeed might be a leftist and a congressy or now with the other part of the
25:15Shiv Sena. And that's absolutely fine. But, you know, by the logic, the previous panelists made
25:20that we are still talking about the dictatorship of Nehru. Nehru died 50 years ago. By that logic,
25:26we should not be talking about the dictator of Stalin, dictatorship of Stalin or Mao,
25:30because they also died at the same time. Let's not talk about that. What is wrong is wrong.
25:34The person who set in laws that stifled our free speech has to be exposed. Let's not come about
25:41saying, oh, my God, don't say anything about Nehru because he is Nehru holier than thou. No,
25:45what is wrong is wrong. Now, I believe there should be no line drawn, Rahul, when you're
25:51talking about where does one draw the line between free speech and dissent? No, there should not be
25:56any line. But, of course, I have to say this. Free speech absolutism, like what I profess,
26:02comes with a few commonsensical exceptions. For example, in the name of free speech,
26:07you can't divulge state secrets. You can't scream fire in a crowded theater because that physically
26:12harms people. You can't incite and lead a mob to violence. You can't defame someone's reputation
26:18with false details. That's where defamation suit comes in. All else is kosher. There should be no
26:23line. Absolutely. You should be able to take a joke, laugh if you feel like, or just ignore him.
26:30Nasir Abdullah is getting really charged up. He wants to respond to what he's hearing from
26:34Anand Ranganathan. So, I'm going to give him the opportunity to do that. Yeah, you speak of free
26:39speech, sir, free speech, but there are the restrictions. And here is the deal. He has not
26:46horribly, and this is the deal, the Sheth Sena and all these, they are known for indulging in
26:50violence. I've been watching it for 40 years. Nikhil Wagle, a columnist in Bombay, his office
26:56was like ransacked because he made some statement. The Sheth Sena, they plundered him. So, this is
27:02hooliganism, man. Grow up, be nice, be cool, talk to the guy and you go to his office and beat up
27:08the entire place, smash the whole place. This is goddamn hooliganism, man. Where are you guys living?
27:15If you need to go by the law, go by the law. No, this is lawlessness. They come and smash up the
27:22place, they set fire, they beat up people. Where are you going? You call this law and this is the
27:28way to deal with free speech? What is the big deal? He has made a comical comment on a situation
27:36that happened, and it's true. Mr. Shinde went into a conspiracy with other folks,
27:41take his number, had his fun. So, why can't somebody talk about it? Everybody knows,
27:45the public knows. They're not stupid, but they've got better things to do. They want to go to work,
27:50they want to have their little whatever. They don't want to get involved because they said,
27:54okay, this happens in politics, so what? Okay, Rasik Chopra, we heard from some stand-up
27:59comedians yesterday who made the argument that in today's day and age, comedians like Kunal
28:05Kamra know that if they go down a certain path, that there could be a real-world backlash.
28:11The charge was that someone like a Kunal Kamra did this deliberately. He knows that he's
28:17flirting with trouble. He wants to do this because he wants publicity. He wants to be
28:21in the limelight. How do you respond to those like Jeevishu Aluwali who made that point?
28:28You know, I don't know Kunal, so I can't speak his mind. What I can tell you is that
28:32all the comics I know and the ones I admire, the first people we laugh at is ourselves.
28:37And the reason we do that is to say that, look, I'm not perfect, you're not perfect,
28:42the world's not perfect, and maybe if we laugh about it, it'll be a little easier to bear,
28:46right? And one of the first things we train for as a comic is to deal with a heckler. Now,
28:50there's two ways to deal with a heckler. One is to get really angry and say, you're an idiot,
28:54get out of here. And the other is to say, joke's on you, buddy, you paid to be here.
28:58And you can leave and I promise you, you'll get your money used to fuel my drinking habit,
29:05right? So I think this is the art form. The art form is making jokes. And the art form should
29:10therefore be received in a similar way. Now, three years ago, almost to the date, when Chris
29:16Rock got up on the stage of the Oscars, and made a joke that I think was in poor taste about Will
29:20Smith's wife, Will Smith got up and slapped him. And as a result, Chris Rock made lots of money at
29:27his next show. And Will Smith had to come to India and pay penance, right? So I think even
29:31from a strategic perspective, if you're on the receiving end of a joke, it makes more sense to
29:36be Chris Rock than it does Will Smith. So if you decide to be the Will Smith character in the joke,
29:41then chances are you're the one who's going to suffer and you're going to elevate the comedian
29:44to a status that he's probably not even looking for. And if he is looking for it, well, you know,
29:47that's his politics and that's his life. But if you call it a joke, which is what he's calling it,
29:52you're probably better off. Kushal, may I respond to this, the fact that someone like
29:57Kunal Kamra gets this kind of airspace, mind space, and therefore becomes bigger than he
30:03otherwise would have been. And in that sense, you know, he's not backing down. So he comes across
30:07to his followers as some kind of a hero. And he's got a lot of mind space, which he otherwise
30:12simply wouldn't have had if Eknath Shinde hadn't reacted. Yeah, I agree. The Streisand effect
30:19is very much in play over here. And that's what, but the Streisand effect equally applies to the
30:26political parties. Rahul, the incentivization in India is of hooliganism. And it's not just
30:34what Mr. Abdullah was saying, a kind of party. Congress workers had ransacked, if I remember
30:39the name of the story, it was Story of Woods in Mumbai over an advertisement that was allegedly
30:44mocking Rahul Gandhi. And at that time, I remember there was a tweet by Bhai Jagtap. He was sharing
30:49the video at that time. So this is in Mumbai, by the way. It was in 2021. Then last year,
30:59you know, the Tamil Nadu Congress had said, Oh, you are denigrating Mr. Pandit Nehru,
31:03who is admired by world leaders. And they had demanded the arrest of a comedian Balaji.
31:09So this is not new. This is a pan India problem. And either we stand for the principle,
31:15then it's a difference. And I don't care what Kunal Kamra's political affiliations are.
31:19I think it doesn't matter. Kunal is entitled to his political biases. Who cares about that?
31:24See, the problem over here, Rahul is, Anand is right. The law is the problem. The law itself
31:31is a problem in this country. We, you know, keep talking around in circles like a jalebi
31:37about isne woh bola, usne woh bola. Bhai law hai na, law nahi hota ra toh yeh sab nahi hoga.
31:42The problem is today, the state, irrespective of the political party, can use 295A, 153A,
31:48124, the sedition law, and many other laws, and they can just destroy your life.
31:53And agar kuch nahi hua, toh DMC toh baddi hi hai, kyunki har aadmi ne koi municipality ka law
31:58toda hai India mein. So that is the problem in India. Rahul, can I just make a quick comment?
32:04Let Anand Nangadasan come and make a quick point. Yes, sir.
32:07Yes, you know, we talked about the law, but let's also, with due respect to the stand-ups,
32:11and we have one here, wonderful person. Let's not brush all the hypocrisy
32:16of these chaps under the carpet. You know, when they say we make jokes about everyone,
32:20I'm sorry, you don't. You make jokes about Hinduism and Hindus, but you shirk away from
32:24making jokes about Islam. Kunal Kamra deleted his tweets about jokes on Muslims and Islam.
32:30Same was AIB. They had to grovel an apology in front of a priest for what they said about
32:37Christianity. Same with MF Hussain, who said that I apologize for if I may have offended Islam.
32:44This is the reality. All you guys who say that we make jokes about everyone are the biggest
32:49double-standard-carrying hypocrites. You don't have guts because you are afraid of sartan se juda.
32:55That's the honest truth. If you don't accept it, that's fine by me. But then you're a hypocrite.
33:00Let Nasir Abdullah respond to this charge of hypocrisy that certain kinds of jokes,
33:05in anticipation of people being liberal, are okay, but certain other kinds of jokes against
33:10some other religions are simply self-centered because you know the kind of calamitous
33:15consequences that will follow. Nasir Abdullah.
33:23Nasir?
33:24Is that? Are you talking to me?
33:26Yes, I was. Anand Ranganathan says comedians are hypocritical because there are certain
33:30kinds of jokes they simply self-censor on.
33:34Yeah, but I don't. I think the main point is this. Look what has happened. Kunal has spoken
33:39the truth about a so-called like a conspiracy, which he has with his other friends, and they
33:45moved on. So this guy joked about it in a comedy show about other issues as well. He
33:50wrapped it up all well. He has spoken the truth. It is true. There was something happening.
33:56Now, why should he apologize? And why should he be jailed? He has spoken the truth. He's
34:03a bit of a mini Gandhi, but you know, a bit of an aggressive Gandhi, maybe, you know,
34:08but he has spoken the truth. Please remember, are we allowed to speak the truth and use it
34:14in a comedy thingy? Who will decide what we choose on? We can't touch the politicians,
34:19however corrupt they may be. We can't touch them because they will come to our office
34:24and destroy our office. Gunda Raj will happen and the law has no face to show. The law will
34:30not control this. They will allow it. So here's what is wrong with the law. Okay? Why don't you
34:36use the law to deal with it? Why do you first attack this venue and destroy it? Destroy it
34:42because that's what these guys are known for doing. They have a history of 35 years. I've
34:48been watching since 1987. No, but let Advaita Kala respond to the charge of hypocrisy. For example,
34:54most comedians would not crack jokes on judges. I mean, how many people have cracked jokes on
34:58the judge against whom so much cash was found? They'll just be very careful because the judge
35:03will put him in jail. So there is a certain element of hypocrisy. The fact is, against
35:09particular religions, they'll be very wary because of the kind of consequences that are globally
35:14against some other religions.
35:17I mean, Charlie Hebdo, we saw what happened there, right? I mean, it was technically,
35:22if you're speaking, it's a satirical magazine. It was a cartoon, but we saw what happened. So
35:28there is this delineation. And I think there is so when we do this big talk about all self-censorship
35:34and things like that, people are already doing it. They are already doing it. This is not
35:40some big fight that we're fighting right now. It exists and people have been doing it for years
35:46for the fear of very real consequences. And frankly, I think, you know, I'm going to
35:51reiterate what I said earlier. This is the attention economy. We're unfortunately part
35:56of the same circus because we're discussing this. And, you know, the bottom line is that
36:01this is something that was done for attention. It received attention. Some of it was negative,
36:07which was the smashing of that venue. And some of it is positive, like all of us discussing it
36:12here and bringing that name in circulation. And frankly, that's what it's about.
36:16How does it, how is it positive? You're saying it's positive for Kunal Kamra. The fact is
36:20that more and more brands and studios will be wary of associating with him. So I'm not sure
36:25how you think of this as being positive. So you get some more YouTube likes and followers, sure.
36:29But if he doesn't get platforms, doesn't get sponsors, doesn't get big stages,
36:33then that's a problem. Rahul, that's the thing, right? If you think entertainment today is not
36:39being weaponized and people are not being funded to take certain positions and create certain types
36:44of content, then I think I need to, you know, bring that to the fore, that this is definitely
36:49happening. So if you're looking at the economic model as only being sponsorships and venue
36:55hosting you, that in today's economy, that's a very narrow way of looking at it.
37:00There are outfits that will fund this kind of content and will pay good money for it.
37:05So, you know, let's not be naive about what's going on here. That's the only thing I want to
37:09say. And I reiterate, there's no need to file any kind of FIR or send anyone to jail for this.
37:16But let's also call out what it is. Okay, all guests have spoken. You know, my view generally is,
37:22you know, like a joke, just look the other way. Just let it be. You file this FIR, you give the
37:27man publicity, he becomes much more of a star than he would have been if you just ignored the
37:31joke that he cracked. I'm out of time. Thank you for joining us. You've heard different points of
37:36view as always on the news track. I'll leave it to you to decide who you think had the more
37:40compelling argument. A Supreme Court appointed panel of three judges has started probing
37:45allegations against Delhi High Court's Justice Yashwant Verma after unaccounted cash was found
37:51at his residence following a fire incident. Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court Bar Association
37:56has called for an indefinite strike against the SC Collegium's decision to relocate Justice Verma to
38:02his parent court. The probe into the alleged cash haul at a Delhi High Court judge's house gathered
38:15stream. The three judge panel appointed by the Chief Justice of India visited Justice Yashwant
38:21Verma's residence on Tuesday. Sources informed India today that probe committee comprising
38:28Chief Justices of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Karnataka High Court and Himachal Pradesh High
38:34Court had arrived here and in fact they spent around 45 minutes inquiring about the incident.
38:41In fact, they also recorded statement of Justice Verma and in fact also visited the exact spot or
38:48the exact room that had caught fire and where this alleged recovery of burned cash notes was made.
38:58The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended transfer of Justice Yashwant Verma
39:02to the Allahabad High Court but the decision has triggered protest.
39:10The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has begun an indefinite strike
39:14raising concerns over allegations of corruption against the judge.
39:18Our struggle is taking place because the judges who are hardworking and honest
39:24are in danger today. Allahabad High Court has been taken as a dumping ground.
39:31Whatever happens, if a judge is transferred on charges of corruption,
39:36Allahabad High Court will transfer him to Allahabad High Court.
39:40Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar called a meeting of law leaders to discuss the cash haul.
39:45I have scheduled a meeting after seeking convenience at 4.30 pm today with the floor leaders
39:55as suggested by leader of the opposition and agreed to by leader of the house.
40:01I am sure we will have very fruitful interaction and find a way out.
40:09The opposition raised the issue in parliament.
40:12In-house procedure of the judicial system is concurrent and independent to what parliament
40:21does and the constitutional procedure with regard to the oversight of judiciary
40:27has been laid down very explicitly in the constitution of India. If the law minister
40:34does not make a statement to parliament, he would be in violation of constitutional propriety.
40:42The cash was recovered on March 14 when a fire broke out at Justice Verma's residence.
40:48The Supreme Court later posted videos of burning cash submitted by the Delhi police.
40:55Justice Verma in response to Delhi High Court Chief Justice dismissed any link to the cash.
41:01With Nalini Sharma and Rahul Gautam, Bureau Report, India Today.
41:07Days before Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff kicks in, US trade official Brendan Lynch is on a visit
41:13to India. He'll be holding talks with Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal besides meeting
41:18a number of senior Indian officials. It is learned that Indian officials are hoping to discuss the
41:22possibility of a temporary reciprocal tariff waiver. Trump himself has declared that some
41:28countries may be exempt from reciprocal tariffs. As the clock ticks to Donald Trump's reciprocal
41:37tariffs, a high-powered US trade delegation led by Brendan Lynch, the US trade representative for
41:43South and Central Asia, reached Delhi this afternoon. It's a five-day mission in India
41:48to find a solution to the trade tariff standoff. The visit comes even as a report by Reuters says
41:56that an internal analysis by the government has estimated that reciprocal tariffs would hit 87%
42:02of India's total exports to the United States worth $66 billion. The report adds that India
42:11is open to reducing tariffs on 55% of the goods it imports from the US. These goods are subject
42:18to tariffs ranging from 5% to 30%. India is said to be ready to substantially lower tariffs or even
42:25scrap some entirely. However, the report says hinges on the US waiving off its reciprocal tariff.
42:36This comes on top of the overall reduction in import duties in budget 2025.
42:43According to a government statement in parliament, the simple average industrial
42:47tariff has reduced to 10.66% from 13.5% in 2023. The finance ministry has also introduced an
42:57amendment in the finance bill to reduce taxes on online ads in a big relief to Google, Meta and X.
43:06Clarificatory amendments in the provisions for FSC's provisions and presumptive taxation for
43:11service providers for electronic manufacturing units is also being brought in as a government
43:18amendment. And the third one for clarity and consistency, a government amendment is coming in
43:23for small changes in the block assessment provisions. And then the 6% equalization levy
43:30which was in effect for advertisement and other things is being proposed to be removed
43:39so that we can address the uncertainty in the international economic conditions.
43:47Indian equity markets, meanwhile, goes for a seventh straight session on Tuesday
43:51in hopes of diluted reciprocal tariffs. Fears over the sweeping tariffs seem to have lessened
43:58with US President Donald Trump's latest remarks that signal a softer stance than before.
44:05In what could be the latest recalibration of tariffs by Trump,
44:08he said several countries could get breaks.
44:14April 2nd comes, that'll be reciprocal tariffs. But we may take less than what they're charging
44:19because they've charged us so much, I don't think they could take it. In other words,
44:23they've charged us so much that I'm embarrassed to charge them what they've charged us,
44:28but it'll be substantial. And you'll be hearing about that on April 2nd.
44:34Trump, meanwhile, played another tariff card, threatening a 25% tariff on any country that
44:40buys oil or gas from Venezuela. According to an executive order signed on Monday,
44:46those tariffs will take effect on or after April 2nd. India is one of the big importers
44:53of Venezuelan crude oil and could face additional worries on this front.
44:58Bureau report. Business Today television.
45:04China's BYD has dethroned Tesla as the world's top electric vehicle seller.
45:09The numbers are jaw-dropping. In 2024, BYD raked in $107 billion,
45:15selling 4.3 million vehicles, more than double Tesla's 1.79 million.
45:21BYD's stock price also reached an all-time peak this month after it unveiled new battery technology
45:27that it said allowed a vehicle to travel up to 470 km after charging for just five minutes.
45:49He's been hogging the limelight as the US president's influencing chief.
45:54From being included in Donald Trump's inner circle to being handed an axe to trim the size
45:59of the US government, Elon Musk has been riding a tide of personal success.
46:05However, that's not the case with his iconic electric car brand Tesla.
46:09In a stunning shift in the electric vehicle market,
46:12China's BYD has surged past Tesla, claiming the top spot in global sales.
46:18According to latest reports, Chinese automaker BYD recorded a staggering $107 billion in revenue
46:25for 2024, eclipsing Tesla's $97.7 billion. BYD sold nearly 4.3 million vehicles last year,
46:34a mix of fully electric and hybrid models, dwarfing Tesla's 1.79 million pure EV deliveries.
46:41That is more than double of Tesla's output, a gap that's turning heads worldwide.
46:47In China alone, BYD's dominance is clear. Last month, the company sold over 3,18,000 vehicles,
46:54a 161 per cent jump from the year before,
46:57while Tesla's sales in the same market dropped nearly 50 per cent to just 30,000 units.
47:04So what's driving the BYD surge? Analysts point to BYD's affordable pricing.
47:10Models like the SEAL EV started just $12,000,
47:13paired with cutting-edge technology like their new 1,000-kilowatt charging system,
47:19twice as fast as Tesla's superchargers.
47:22BYD has also mastered vertical integration, building their own batteries and software,
47:28while offering prices that Tesla cannot match.
47:32BYD is also accelerating its global push with record exports last month.
47:37Meanwhile, Tesla faces challenges. Sales in Europe dropped 45 per cent this year,
47:42and its China slump continues.
47:47The markets are reacting too. BYD's stock has soared 37 per cent this year,
47:52while Tesla's has plummeted over 27 per cent in 2025,
47:56reflecting investor confidence in BYD's momentum.
48:00Closer to home, the India experience tells a stark story for the two companies.
48:05Tesla has been knocking on India's door for years, tangled in high import duties,
48:10once 110 per cent, now eased to 15 per cent, and demands for local manufacturing.
48:15Meanwhile, BYD is already cruising Indian roads, with models like the Ato III gaining traction
48:22since 2022, capitalising on affordability and a head start in the world's third-largest auto market.
48:35This is where I wrap up the news track tonight. For your time and your trust,
48:38thank you very much. I look forward to seeing you 8pm tomorrow evening.
48:41Till then, from all of us here, goodbye and goodnight.