BJP leader files complaint against comedian Vir Das’ remark

NEW DELHI:  Delhi BJP vice-president and spokesperson on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, filed a complaint against actor-comedian Vir Das at Tilak Marg police station alleging that he used ‘derogatory’ statements against the country on an international platform maligning the image of women and India.

BJP leader Aditya Jha in his complaint said that Das had used derogatory statements and tried to malign the country’s name by saying “Women in India are worshipped in the day and raped at night” in a show organized at the John F Kennedy Centre in Washington DC.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) New Delhi Deepak Yadav said: “Yes, we have received a complaint against actor-comedian Vir Das. We’ve not registered any FIR yet. The matter is currently being probed.” As soon as the actor-comedian uploaded a six-minute clip of the video from his monologue called, ‘I come from two Indias,’ on Youtube, the video went viral sparking a controversy across the social media platforms like twitter and facebook.

As the video went viral with sparking controversy, many criticized and trolled the actor, while several popular personalities, celebrities and senior political leaders like former Education Minister Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor supported Das. Some Twitter users specifically posted the clip from his show in which he says, “I come from an India where we worship women during the day and gang-rape them during the night.”

“Vir Das. None can doubt that there are two India's. Just that we don’t want an Indian to tell the world about it. We are intolerant and hypocritical,” tweeted Sibal. Meanwhile, Tharoor in a tweet said, “A stand-up comedian who knows the real meaning of the term “stand up” is not physical moral but --@thevirdas spoke for millions in the sic minute take on the two India’s he hails from and stands up for,” he said, adding, “This is a joke but it’s just not funny.” Brilliant.

However, the actor-comedian issued a statement on twitter stating that his intention was to remind every citizen to remember that India, despite its flaws, is “great”. “The video is a satire about the duality of two very separate India’s that do different things. Like any nation has light and dark, good and evil within it. None of this is a secret. The video appeals to us to never forget that we are great. To never stop focusing on what makes us great,” read the statement.

He further said, “It ends in a gigantic patriotic round of applause for a country we all love, believe in, and are proud of. That there is more to our country than the headlines, a deep beauty. That’s the point of the video and the reason for the applause,” his statement read.

‘Vir tried to depict India as threat’ 
Advocate Ashutosh Dubey filed a complaint against Vir Das in Mumbai. Dubey alleged that Das’ statement attempted to project India as the biggest threat to democracy. Dubey sought an FIR and felt “it is necessary to issue notice to the intermediaries.”