Munawar Faruqui now dropped from Gurgaon Comedy Festival: Report

In another attempt to "save public", the organisers of Gurgaon Comedy Festival have dropped stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui from their line-up of performers, according to a report by The Indian Express.

Organisers said that they received "repeated calls" and online messages over the past two days opposing Faruqui’s participation in the three-day festival. "We did not want to hurt anyone’s sentiments or put the public in danger… so we removed him from the panel. The decision was taken yesterday and we made changes on the poster and ticketing platform. For us, safety of artists and public is a priority… audience is everything," Mubin Tisekar, co-founder of The Entertainment Factory, which is organising the event, told the publication.

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The comedy festival is scheduled to be held from December 17-19 at Airia Mall.

Meanwhile, Haryana head of BJP’s IT department, Arun Yadav, filed a police complaint against Faruqui, accusing him of insulting Hindu gods and goddesses and asked police to ensure he does not perform. “To maintain peace and harmony between different sections of the society, I request you to look into the matter and stop him… His activities have offended my Hindu faith,” wrote Yadav in the complaint.

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The comedian was put in jail for a month earlier this year because his show allegedly showed Hindu deities in a bad light.

Aman Yadav, ACP, Sadar, who has the additional charge of ACP Sohna, told the publication that a complaint has been received against Faruqui, raising objection to his participation in a festival to be held in Gurgaon and regarding content of some of his videos online.

This is the latest in the series of troubles that Faruqui has faced. Several of his shows across India (Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Mumbai and Raipur) have been cancelled in the past few months following ultimatums by right-wing groups. Faruqui hinted at an exit from stand-up comedy after his Bengaluru show was cancelled last month due to vandalisation threats from right-wing groups. "Nafrat jeet gayi, artist haar gaya. (Hate won, an artist has lost), I'm done! Goodbye," Faruqui had posted on social media.

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