Comedian Vir Das puts off his show in Bengaluru

Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, a Hindutva outfit, had filed a complaint with the Vyalikaval police station against the show

Comedian Vir Das announced that his Bengaluru show scheduled on Thursday has been put off. This comes close on the heels of a petition by a Hindutva outfit demanding its cancellation. However, Mr. Das not cited reasons for the cancellation.

On Instagram, Mr. Das said, ”Due to unavoidable circumstances, we are pushing the Bengaluru show. New details and dates soon. Sorry for the inconvenience.” He also said those who had paid for the tickets will have the option to transfer them to the new date.

Incidentally, the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, a Hindutva outfit, had filed a complaint with the Vyalikaval police station against the Vir Das show seeking its cancellation. The show was scheduled at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall in Malleswaram on Thursday. No one from the hall was available for comments.

The spokesman of HJS, in his complaint, said that the comedy show “hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus and shows India in a bad light.” He accused Mr. Das of making derogatory statements against women and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a show held in Washington DC. A case was registered by the Mumbai and Delhi police as it was a serious offense under IPC, he said in his complaint.

In the last year, at least three programmes were cancelled in Bengaluru by the police and other authorities, acting on petitions submitted by Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS), a sister organisation of Goa-based Hindutva organisation Sanatan Sanstha.