Speaking about the heckling on a flight by self-proclaimed stand-up comic Kunal Kamra, Republic TV’s Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami remarked that he had thought Kamra had a “mental condition.”
Appearing on the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Arnab stated that he was unaware of what was going on around him during the trip in which Kamra heckled him and that he assumed Kamra had some mental problem that the cabin crew would address.
Arnab said, “I had just begun watching a film and I didn’t recognise the individual you are speaking about, I thought there was a condition the individual had. I felt that it is not my job and it is the job of the security people there to do it. And I really thought he was shouting at someone else.”
“Truly, to be very honest with you, I had my headphones on and I was watching the movie at the volume level of 90. I did not realise much about this whole episode till I actually landed. I was on my way to interview Yogi,” Arnab further added.
Kunal Kamra harassed and heckled renowned journalist Arnab Goswami on a January 2020 trip from Mumbai to Lucknow. Kunal Kamra then turned to Twitter to share a clip of himself heckling Arnab Goswami. He also tweeted that he had a “monologue” with Arnab Goswami on his journalism. He closed the tweet with the words ‘F*ck Arnab,’ and stated that Arnab failed to respond and labelled him mentally insane.
Kamra had used abusive language against Arnab.
Met Arnab Goswami on a flight & gave him a monologue about his ‘journalism’
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) January 28, 2020
All he did was call me mentally unstable & after sometime I had no choice but to return to my seat.
The entire flight I’ll keep pretending to use the loo just to tell him he’s piece of SHIT
F*CK Arnab
In the video, Kamra can be heard mocking Arnab and questioning how he could discuss Rohit Vemula’s caste. He further informs Arnab that he should respond to him since he supports Rahul Gandhi and is a part of the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang.’
Following this, IndiGo Airlines banned Kunal Kamra from flying for heckling Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami. On cue, Air India, SpiceJet, and GoAir all announced restrictions on Kamra. The government of India, through the Ministry of Civil Aviation, issued guidelines in September 2017 to address on-board disruptive and disorderly behaviour by passengers, which might land them on the No-Fly List.
On-flight behaviour and passenger safety are rigorously monitored on most local and international flights, and there are severe procedures in place following the 9/11 tragedy in 2001.
