Indian Airlines IndiGO and Air India on Tuesday, 28 January, suspended stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra from flying with the airlines, after he accosted journalist Arnab Goswami aboard the Mumbai-Lucknow IndiGo flight.
While IndiGo suspended Kamra from flying with it for a period of six months, Air India has banned him until further notice.
Kamra on Tuesday, posted a video on Twitter in which he can be heard confronting Goswami’s journalism. He captioned the video, “I did this for my hero...I did it for Rohit”, referring to Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula, who killed himself in 2016 alleging harassment by the government.
However, Goswami doesn’t react throughout the length of the video.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi criticised the move in a tweet, terming the bans imposed on Kamra as an 'act of coward'. He also asked Goswami to 'show some spine'.
Journalist Nidhi Razdan termed the move to suspend Kamra as “a bit excessive,” while Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha slammed the airline industry for “hitting an air pocket.”
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also weighed in on the video and said, "The truth is that it was time someone gave him (Goswami) a taste of his own medicine".
Journalist Rahul Bhatia said, “After reviewing the incident involving a journalist and a warmonger on a flight, I’ve decided to recommend that Kunal Kamra be given an unlimited premium economy ticket for life. Arnab Goswami should get, for his many, many problems, a custom-made violin smaller than the world’s smallest violin."
‘Kamra Did What Arnab Does Daily on His Show’
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee defended Kamra and said “What Kunal Kamra did to Arnab, Arnab does it daily on his TV studio,” adding that he goes much ahead to “harass and defame people.”
“Genuinely looking forward to the Kunal Kamra cross-country road show,” journalist Raghu Karnad quipped.
Meanwhile, journalist Tavleen Singh Aroor said, “Folks cheering Kunal Kamra don’t realise the damage to selves,” adding that Kamra’s behaviour on the flight was despicable.
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