A Bharatiya Janata Party MLA in Telangana on Thursday threatened to attack stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui and burn down the stage if the state government permits him to perform in Hyderabad.
In a Facebook post, BJP lawmaker from Hyderabad’s Goshamahal constituency T Raja Singh, appealed to the government of Telengana and the police department to not allow Munawar Faruqui to perform in Hyderabad.
In his post he wrote, "I appeal to the government of telengana and the police department that Munawar Faruqui is coming to Hyderabad for a event which will be openly opposed and organisers have to face serious consciousness if they help them . Warning to the theatre owner if the programs held the place will be put on fire ......"
In a video message circulated on social media Raja Singh said that the comedian had cracked jokes on Hindu gods and should not be allowed.
“Let them see what will happen if he is invited to stage a show in Hyderabad. Wherever the programme is held, we shall beat him up. Whoever offers him a venue, we shall set it afire,” he warned.
“We shall definitely teach him a lesson for abusing our Lord Ram if he comes to Telangana. This is a challenge,” he said.
Faruqui announced his show – Dongri to Nowhere – in Hyderabad on August 20 on Instagram on Wednesday. Sharing the post, he wrote, “Hyderabad, Link in Bio” followed by a fire emoji. The tickets, priced at Rs 499 onwards, would be sold on online ticket booking platform…”.
Faruqui was originally scheduled to perform in Hyderabad on January 9, but it was cancelled due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in Telangana.
While state BJP president Bandi Sanjay gave a call to the youth to stop Faruqui’s event at any cost, Raja Singh wrote to Telangana director general of police (DGP) M Mahender Reddy to demand that he shouldn’t be given permission since it was meant to create hatred against Hindu religion and gods.
Notably, in November, Faruqui”s show in Bengaluru was cancelled after protests by Hindu right-wing groups, who alleged that he had hurt their religious sentiments in one of his shows. Besides Bengaluru, his shows in Gujarat, Gurugram, Chhattisgarh, and Goa too were cancelled following threats from various right-wing groups.
