Remember the Indian journalist Arnab Goswami who reported that Hamza Ali Abbasi is an ISI agent? And the guy whose name Altaf Hussain got wrong? The same guy was recently trolled by Indian stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Lucknow.
Goswami is known for his loudness and heckling of guests on his current affairs programme. Comedian Kunal Kamra first tweeted that he met Arnab Goswami on a flight and gave him a monologue about his ‘journalism’.
“All he did was call me mentally unstable & after some time I had no choice but to return to my seat,” wrote Kamra.
Kamra later posted a video where he is calling Goswami a ‘coward’ and asks him to respond to questions about a Dalit student, Rohit Vermula. Goswami had vilified Rohit after false cases were registered against him. Rohit committed suicide.
When Kamra accosted Goswami, he pretended to watch a video on his laptop and turned a blind eye to Kamra’s questioning.
Following their interaction, IndiGo barred Kamra from flying with them for six months.
“In light of the recent incident on board 6E 5317 from Mumbai to Lucknow, we wish to inform that we are suspending Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with IndiGo for a period of six months, as his conduct onboard was unacceptable behaviour. Hereby, we wish to advise our passengers to refrain from indulging in personal slander whilst onboard, as this can potentially compromise the safety of fellow passengers,” announced IndiGo on Twitter.
However, instead of feeling bad about it, Kamra thanked IndiGo.
Kamra also issued an official statement on the matter.
“Today I met Arnab Goswami in a flight to Lucknow (6E 5317) and politely asked him to have a conversation. At first, he pretended to be on a phone call. I waited for his so-called phone call to get over. Seatbelt signs were off at this time. I gave him a monologue about what I felt about his “journalism”. He refused to answer any questions, he called me ‘mentally unstable’.The stewardess asked me to take my seat as the seatbelt signs had just come on. Post take-off, when the seatbelt signs were off again, I approached him again and asked him if I could have his attention. He said he is watching something, and he doesn’t want to talk. So then I did exactly what Republic TV journalists do to people in their private/public spaces, and I don’t regret it. I am not sorry for it. The moment the stewardess asked me to move, I went back to my seat in 20 seconds. I apologised to each crew member personally and to both the pilots, by staying back till the end, for any inconvenience that I might have caused during the flight. I don’t think I did anything wrong/criminal. Don’t let this be about my bravado. Let us all take a moment and fondly remember a smiling Rohith vemulaI do apologise to every passenger except one”.
