Hyderabad: Comedian Daniel Fernandes announced the cancellation of his show in Hyderabad after BJP MLA T Raja Singh threatened him to cancel the show or face dire consequences. Fernandes’ show was scheduled to happen in Banjara Hills area of the city on Saturday, June 29.
The threat from the Hindutva BJP leader came after the comedian’s take on the incident where members of the Jain community dressed up as Muslims to ‘save goats’ on Bakrid on June 17.
Raja Singh’s threatening video:
In a video released online, Raja Singh threatened the comedian and said, “I want to tell Daniel to cancel his show in Banjara Hills. If not, our karyakartas will throw so many chappals that you will have to think 50 times before stepping into Telangana. He will be badly beaten up if he does not cancel it.”
Daniel Fernandes’ apology:
In response, Fernandes took down the video on Jains and posted an apology to the Jain community on his Instagram handle. “My intention with my craft has only been to entertain and while a lot of my fans may have enjoyed the particular video, it is also possible that some have genuinely felt hurt. If that is the case, I have no qualms in apologising to anyone from the Jain community that felt aggrieved by my jokes.”
“Forgiveness is one of the many beautiful traits your community espouses so I hope we can put this behind us and move on in peace,” he said in a statement.
T Raja Singh’s criminal history:
The BJP MLA has 85 criminal cases lodged against him for various offences and has been convicted in two of them. Out of the 85, he faces 36 charges in connection to promoting enmity between two groups, 29 charges on deliberate, malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, 17 for intentional insult to provoke breach of peace, 13 on criminal intimidation, 12 on provocation with intent to cause rioting, eight related to statements to cause public mischief, 4 on defiling places of worship.
The BJP MLA has 85 criminal cases lodged against him for various offences and has been convicted in two of them. He also threatened Muslim comedian Munnawar Farooqi in 2022 and warned him to not do a show in Hyderabad. He’s known for his bigoted anti-minority views. Telangana States News India: Top News India, States News, States News Headlines, Online State News India, State Politics news
