A Kolkata-based stand-up comedian has attracted the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) ire for allegedly insulting warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji. Though comedian Sourav Ghosh posted an apology on his Facebook page for “saying some silly things”, the MNS was not amused. MNS activists Monday submitted a written complaint to the Mumbai Cyber Crime Cell and demanded and that an FIR be registered against the comedian for insulting their “deity”, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Ghosh has not only been receiving abuses and threats on social media platforms but was also forced to cancel his show in Mumbai after allegedly being targeted by Shiv Sena and MNS supporters.

The issue came to light after Ghosh uploaded a video of one of his gigs on YouTube channel on February 27. In the video, Ghosh mentions the ordeal outsiders face while reaching Mumbai airport. In the video Ghosh says: “Why does the Maharashtra government have two airports in a city. And why are both the airports named after Shivaji (referring to the warrior king).” According to Ghosh, since both the airports have the same name, he had himself landed up at the wrong airport four times.

This did not go down well with a lot of Shivaji Maharaj admirers who started commenting against it on social media. What irked them more were Ghosh’s comments on Facebook (FB) that came after the video.

In response to an online interaction he had with a user who commented on his video, Ghosh made comments that offended the MNS even more.

One of the complainants Akhil Chitre, vice-president of the MNS youth wing, said, “Ghosh should be arrested for insulting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and hurting the sentiments of his followers. As if the video was not enough, Ghosh went on to post derogatory and vulgar messages. We have demanded an FIR be registered against him at the earliest.”

Ghosh continued replying and commenting on his Facebook wall and posted a message, titled Troll vs Underwear till May 4. The screenshot of the exchange was posted on Twitter and Facebook. Amit Bhadricha, a member of Shiv Sena’s IT cell, said, “We cannot take such an insult of Shivaji Maharaj lightly, It is not acceptable. We just posted on social media, we didn’t approach the police nor did we threaten him.”

Following the threats on social media, Ghosh on May 6, posted an apology. He even cancelled a show scheduled on May 4 in Dadar. He wrote, “I have been getting a lot of hate messages for one of the screenshots I had put up on my Facebook page where I said the worst things possible about Chhatrapati Shivaji. It all started when I put up a video called ‘Mumbai Airports’ where there was a small reference of Shivaji Maharaj (as the airport is named after him) to which I thought a lot of people overreacted…..Now I understand that what I thought was funny, may not be funny to most people. In fact the general consensus is that it’s crude and vulgar and that includes my family, colleagues, partners and friends, however, that was not my intent at all. I am taking down the post from my side because I understand the point and in no way do I want to incite any more hate,” Ghosh wrote.

“I know Chhatrapati Shivaji was a great king and had done great things and me saying some silly things do not even scratch his legacy but I do find it very unfortunate that I had hurt so many people’s feelings,” he added.

An official of Cyber Crime Cell, Bandra said, “We received a representation from MNS youth wing. They have submitted a letter with a demand to book one Sourav Ghosh, a stand up comic. However, we have to first examine his posts and the video in question before initiating any action.”

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