Days after Hindu organisations Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad protested against ‘comedy’ show by Munawar Faruqui the event organisers 2Jokers Entertainment has pulled out of the event. Bajrang Dal’s Rahul Sharma has confirmed that the show in Surat has been cancelled as the event management company run by one Parth Brahmbhatt has pulled out of the show. He said that Brahmbhatt is in talks with Bookmyshow, the ticketing platform, to get the show delisted as the ‘comedy’ show will no longer be held.
Earlier, Parth Brahmbhatt had refused to cancel the show and urged Bajrang Dal to take the legal route in case they want to get the show cancelled. Brahmbhatt had also said that Faruqui got ‘clean chit’ on the allegations of making anti-Hindu jokes during a comedy show and hence he (Brahmbhatt) would not back off from organising the show. However, after the Hindu groups insisted that they will take the tickets themselves and sit in audience to have their ‘own show’ by reciting Hanuman Chalisa throughout, Brahmbhatt seems to have decided to pull out of organising the show.
It is not yet clear whether the shows in Vadodara and Ahmedabad will go on as usual or they too will be cancelled. OpIndia tried to reach out to Parth Brahmbhatt, but was unable to get through. At the time of this report, Bookmyshow has not yet pulled down the upcoming show.
Earlier last week, members of Bajrang Dal in Surat issued a warning to the organisers of an upcoming show in the city featuring ‘Comedian’ Munawar Faruqui. Some of the ‘comedy clips’ of Faruqui have been allegedly insulting to the Hindu victims of the Godhra riots of 2002. He had also peddled conspiracy theories of RSS involvement in the Gujarat carnage and mocking Hindu deities in name of comedy.
Munawar Faruqui on 2002 Godhra Carnage and Amit Shah
In a video uploaded on YouTube in March 2020, Munawar Faruqui mocked the 2002 Godhra carnage where 58 Hindus returning from Ayodhya were burnt alive by a Muslim mob. In a part of the clip that had gone viral on social media, one can hear him refer to the carnage as a fictional film ‘directed’ by Amit Shah and ‘produced’ by RSS. He has also been accused of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus through his ‘comedy’ shows.
