New Delhi:
Comedian Samay Raina has once again angered politicians with his polarising dark comedy. He earned the latest round of backlash after a banter session with a fellow comic on his much-talked-about show, India’s Got Latent, where the duo traded jokes about their Kashmiri and Bihari identities.
Comic Sharon Verma appeared on the new episode of India’s Got Latent. She and Raina, the host, exchanged quick jokes. Soon, the session veered into roasting territory.
While Verma made wisecracks about Raina’s Kashmiri Pandit roots, the comedian made fun of her links to Bihar.
Politicians, however, didn’t find the exchange funny.
BJP MLA Ram Kadam connected the banter to the comedian’s alleged bid to gain publicity.
“There are certain forces in society that deliberately make controversial statements simply to gain publicity. Their sole objective is to become famous. We need to understand that the deities of Sanatan Hinduism and Kashmiri Pandits cannot be treated as subjects of ridicule. Someone cannot deliberately do something offensive and then simply apologise afterwards. In the meantime, they get the publicity they wanted across the country for free,” he was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
Bihar Minister Mithilesh Tiwari said the two comedians’ comments were derogatory.
“Any derogatory remark against any citizen of our country is unacceptable. Those who make such remarks are talking about breaking the country. We are people who dream of an Akhand Bharat, and for us, the king and the commoner are equal,” he said.
This isn’t Raina’s first brush with controversies. In 2024, he was forced to shut down the show after a crass remark by podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia triggered a controversy.
Multiple police complaints had been filed against Raina and others who appeared on that episode of the show.
The Supreme Court had also weighed in, reprimanding the comedian over the crass jokes. Maharashtra police’s cyber cell also questioned him.
Recently, he was invited to an event where Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present. He didn’t miss the opportunity to crack jokes. “Maharashtra cyber and I go way back,” Raina said, leaving Fadnavis and other entertainment personalities in splits.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court cancelled all cases registered against him.
Also read: India’s Got Latent: FIRs Against Samay Raina Over Insensitive Remarks Cancelled By Top Court
Kashmiri Pandit Activists Take Offence
Kashmiri Pandit activists have taken offence, calling the exchange unfortunate.
“It is very unfortunate that the man who himself is a victim of ethnic cleansing and genocide trivialises the ethnic cleansing of his community. It is also very unfortunate that he makes a mockery of the hard-working people of this country, just for a few eyeballs and a few moments of fame. He has no business mocking people who have been living in exile,” said Amit Raina, a Kashmiri Pandit activist.
“To garner a few more views from subscribers and for cheap laughter, denigrating the entire community of genocide survivors is unacceptable,” said Ashwani Bhat, another Kashmiri Pandit activist.
