India's domestic airlines SpiceJet and GoAir have barred stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra from flying them until further notice. Many Indian airlines including IndiGo and Air India have imposed such restrictions on Kunal Kamra for allegedly heckling journalist Arnab Goswami onboard a flight from Mumbai to Lucknow.
"SpiceJet has decided to suspend Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with the airline till further notice," it tweeted.
SpiceJet has decided to suspend Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with the airline till further notice. @MoCA_GoI @DGCAIndia @HardeepSPuri @IndiGo6E
— SpiceJet (@flyspicejet) January 29, 2020
"GoAir has suspended Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with the airline till further notice," the airline tweeted.
GoAir has suspended Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with the airline till further notice @MoCA_GoI @DGCAIndia @HardeepSPuri @IndiGo6E
— GoAir (@goairlinesindia) January 29, 2020
IndiGo on Tuesday barred stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for six months for allegedly heckling journalist Arnab Goswami onboard a flight from Mumbai to Lucknow. Air India also said Kamra has been suspended from flying with it until further notice.
Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri took notice of the incident and "advised" other airlines in India to impose similar restriction on Kamra, stating "offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create disturbance inside an aircraft is absolutely unacceptable & endangers safety of air travellers".
ALSO READ: IndiGo, Air India Suspend Kunal Kamra From Flying For Allegedly Heckling Arnab Goswami
In a video clip posted by Kumar Kamra on Twitter, the stand-up comedian is seen asking Goswami if he is a "coward or a journalist".
While Goswami can be seen sitting in the plane and watching something on his laptop with his earphones plugged in, Kamra is heard as telling him: "Viewers want to know if Arnab today is a coward or a nationalist. Arnab, this is for national interest. I am part of the tukde-tukde narrative. You should deflate me. You should take the enemy of the states down. You should make sure that the country is in safe hands of Narendra Modi."
"You should fight against dynasts like Rahul Gandhi, who I support, on 10 Tughlaq Lane. Arnab, you should have a reply, Arnab. Arnab, are you a coward or are you a journalist? Are you a coward or are you a journalist or a nationalist? Who are you, Arnab? Who are you?" Kamra can be heard as saying in the video clip.
"You know, you do not deserve my politeness. This is not for you. This is for Rohith Vemula's mother whose caste you were discussing on your...show. I know this is not allowed. This is fine. It's fine if it is not allowed. I'd go to jail for this.
"But this is for Rohit's mother. And go...find time and read that 10-page suicide letter that Rohit wrote so that you have some emotion or some heart or you just become human. Do that. Do that you in your free time. You nationalist." Kamra can be heard as saying.