New Delhi: Comedian Kunal Kamra has been facing backlash from really strong opponents, however, he has a sea of support behind him, one of them being the pilot who flew him.
It can be recalled that earlier this week, Kamra, when he noticed that Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami was on the same flight, confronted the journalist in a manner similar to his own. He ‘heckled’ Goswami, who remained silent throughout, and questioned him about his journalism.
Following the incident, Kamra was banned from the airline for six months. Union Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri encouraged other airlines to ban the comedian as well, after which Air India, India’s national carrier, GoAir and SpiceJet followed suit.
The move was criticised by many who spoke out in support of the comedian. Many took to Twitter and created fake accounts to ‘ban’ Kamra from everything from walking to travelling in an autorickshaw.
A few days after the nightmare began, Captain Rohit Mateti, the pilot who flew Kamra and Goswami, wrote to IndiGo Airlines’ management to ask why he wasn’t consulted before the ban was imposed.
Apparently, according to India’s no-fly rules, the request for inquiry against a passenger for unruly behaviour must come from the pilot.
The Captain insisted that Kamra’s behaviour, “while unsavoury”, did not qualify him as a “level 1 unruly passenger”.
Reacting to news of the pilot’s support, Kamra took to Twitter to show his appreciation.
“Captain Rohit Mateti ko mera salaam (I salute Captain Rohit Mateti),” he wrote on Friday, a day after the pilot wrote to the Airline.
Captain Rohit Mateti ko mera salaam
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) January 31, 2020
As per reports, even the DGCA, the aviation watchdog, stated that the ban is a violation of due process, although it did not mention Kamra’s ban specifially.
