Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday reacted to a video shared by popular stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra. In the video, Kamra who bumped into Republic Editor Arnab Goswami on a flight on Tuesday, is seen giving a monologue about Arnab's ‘journalism’, while he has plugged his earphones and trying to not hear Kamra.
Tharoor said that it was time that Arnab got the taste of his own medicine. "These are the words he regularly uses to berate his innocent victims, except he does so in a hectoring, bullying manner & at higher volume & pitch than @kunalkamra88 does in this video," Tharoor said in a tweet.
However, Twitter was divided after the incident came to light. Some praised Kamra's bravery while some said that the stand-up comedian's act was legally and morally wrong.
A Twitter user however pointed out that Tharoor himself, as a public figure, couldn't fly in peace.
"You really want to take civil discourse where you can't fly in peace as a public figure? No fan of Arnab, but there are far more serious charges against Indian journalists. Like abetting terror on air. Colluding with your party and fixing berths. All should be hassled in public?" he asked.
The Congress MP replied to this tweet saying that one mustn't use "civil discourse“ and Arnab's name in the same sentence.
He wrote, "No, but the standard was set by him. His goons,armed with cameras&mics as their weapons, have done exactly the same thing to me, in almost exactly the same words, on two separate flights until asked to desist by air crew. Don’t use“civil discourse “&his name in the same sentence."
Kamra in the video can be seen saying, "Arnab, are you a coward or are you a journalist...or a nationalist? Who are you Arnab?"
"Go find time to read that 10-page suicide letter that Rohith wrote. So that you have some emotion or some heart ...or you just become human. Do that. Do that in your free time," he said.
Taking to Twitter post his flight, Kamra said that he "did exactly what Republic TV journalists do to people in their private/public spaces".
"I am not sorry for it," he added.
