The Mumbai Police are preparing to serve a second summons to comedian Kunal Kamra on Wednesday, urging him to appear for questioning over a controversial joke allegedly targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Kamra had requested a week’s extension through his lawyer, but his plea was denied. The summons falls under Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as per ANI reports.

Saamana Criticizes ‘Overreaction’

Shiv Sena (UBT)’s mouthpiece Saamana highlighted PM Narendra Modi’s statement that “criticism is the soul of democracy” and questioned the strong response from the Devendra Fadnavis-led government.

“Kunal Kamra simply repackaged a well-known ‘khoke’ jibe in his parody song. Why such a fuss over something that isn’t new?” Saamana wrote.

The editorial suggested that the controversy had backfired, embarrassing Shinde while the BJP and Fadnavis distanced themselves. It also noted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) acted against the show’s venue, Habitat Studio, only after Kamra’s satire went public.

Comedy, Vandalism, and Political Clash

Kamra’s video triggered outrage among Shiv Sena supporters, leading to vandalism at Habitat Studio in Khar. Following this, the BMC partially demolished the venue, citing structural violations.

Police have booked Kamra under BNS Sections 353(1)(b) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation). Meanwhile, 11 members of Shiv Sena’s youth wing, Yuva Sena, were arrested for the vandalism.

While BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) accused Uddhav Thackeray’s camp of orchestrating the controversy to malign Shinde, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) defended Kamra’s freedom of speech.