Police denies permission to comedian Munawar Faruqui’s Delhi show

PTI, Aug 27, 2022, 12:58 PM IST

Police have denied permission to stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui’s show in central Delhi to maintain communal harmony after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad wrote a letter to the city police chief to cancel the programme, officials said on Saturday.

A senior police officer said the central district police in its report to the licencing unit said the show will affect communal harmony in the area. The event was scheduled for Sunday afternoon (August 28) at the Kedarnath Sahni Auditorium, C-Block, SPM Civic Centre in central Delhi.

According to the police, the central district police submitted its report to the licencing unit on Friday, following which the permission for the show was denied on the same day. While giving permission, it is already mentioned in the form that the programme/show will not affect the communal harmony in the area. However, if the licencing unit gets any input that it will affect the communal harmony, then the permission for the show is denied, the officer said.

Surendra Kumar Gupta, state president of right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), on Thursday wrote a letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner urging him not to give permission to Faruqui’s show. The letter said Faruqui is going to hold a programme on August 28 at the Kedarnath Sahni Auditorium in Civic Centre and alleged that he mocks Hindu gods and goddess due to which there was a communal tension in Hyderabad recently.

Gupta asked the police to cancel the show or the workers of the VHP and the Bajrang Dal will hold a protest against it.

The organiser of the show refused to comment on the issue. After the news about the cancelation of the show broke out, Trinamool Congress MP Mohua Moitra tweeted, ”VHP bullies spineless @Delhipolice, cancel @munawar0018 show. Gandhiji said ”I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed”. Is India@75’s communal harmony so fragile today that is is disrupted by comedy show?”