Comedian Kunal Kamra has been instructed to appear in person before the privileges committee of the Maharashtra Legislative Council on February 17. This summons is related to a breach of privilege motion filed against him due to his purportedly derogatory comments about Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, as reported by a news outlet.

Prasad Lad, the chair of the committee and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, mentioned that notices were sent to both Kamra and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sushma Andhare two weeks ago for a hearing regarding the alleged remarks. Both individuals were initially scheduled to appear before the committee on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Lad noted that Kamra had communicated his inability to travel to Mumbai for the scheduled hearing. Consequently, he was rescheduled to appear on February 17, according to the report.

The committee also postponed Andhare’s hearing after she indicated her involvement in Zilla Parishad election campaigning. She has also been summoned for February 17.

In March, BJP MLC Pravin Darekar initiated a breach of privilege notice against both Kamra and Andhare. Kamra faced accusations of mocking Shinde and disrespecting the Maharashtra legislature, while Andhare was alleged to have shown support for him.

On March 23, Kamra shared a video on his YouTube channel where he seemingly criticized Shinde through a satirical rendition of a popular Hindi film song.

During his performance, he referred to Shinde as a “traitor” in connection with the latter's 2022 rebellion against former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, although he did not mention Shinde by name.

Following the widespread sharing of performance clips on social media, members of the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena vandalized The Habitat studio in Mumbai's Khar area, where the performance was filmed.

The day after the incident, Mumbai Police registered a case against Kamra under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to defamation and public mischief.

On April 25, the Bombay High Court granted Kamra protection from arrest, although the investigation against him is permitted to proceed.