Comedian Daniel Fernandes on Saturday cancelled a stand-up performance in Telangana’s Hyderabad after receiving threats from a BJP MLA about a joke he had made about the Jain community.

In a clip from a performance he had posted on social media, Fernandes had made a joke about some members of the Jain community who disguised themselves as Muslims to buy goats in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk ahead of the Muslim festival of Bakra Eid.

According to a report by The Print, some members of the Jain community had paid Rs 15 lakh to buy 124 goats to “save” them from being slaughtered.

Within hours of the video being posted, Fernandes’ Instagram post was filled with angry comments. On Friday, he posted a statement on Instagram saying he would remove the joke.

On Saturday, Bharatiya Janata Party leader T Raja Singh from Hyderabad said in a video that if Fernandes did not cancel the show, “our workers will come there and thrash you”.

Singh, the MLA from the Goshamahal constituency, also urged the Hyderabad Police to cancel the comedian’s show. “If not, everyone will remember the state we will make of him so that no one will ever make a joke on the Jain community or Hinduism,” he said.

Fernandes apologised to the Jain community and said that he had received several “abusive and threatening” messages after he initially posted the video.

“As comedians, we are aware that once in a while something we say may not be received well,” he said in a post. “It’s the nature of the business. It’s impossible to make everyone laugh.”

Fernandes said that there was “no malice” involved in his writing process, adding that comedy should bring people together rather than drive them apart.

“My intention with my craft has always been only to entertain, and while lot of my fans have enjoyed this particular video, it is also possible that people may have felt genuinely hurt,” he said.

Later in the day, in a video on social media, he said that the video on the joke had been taken down and an apology had been issued. He added that the show in Hyderabad had to be “rescheduled because of the unrest caused” by the comedy sketch.

“However, we are still receiving calls, messages, and emails threatening us with violence and vandalism,” Fernandes said. “Nobody is ready to guarantee the safety of my audience, my crew and myself. I do not want to put anyone in harm’s way because of something I said.”

He said that it was all right to disagree with the work of an artist. However, to threaten violence was not an answer, the comedian added.

In January, BJP MLA T Raja Singh had been booked by the Maharashtra Police for making incendiary speeches at a rally in Maharashtra’s Solapur district.

During the rally held on January 6, Singh allegedly urged the audience to assault “love jihadis” and boycott products with halal certification.

“Love jihad” is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslim men lure Hindu women into romantic relationships in order to convert them to Islam. The Union home ministry has told Parliament that Indian law has no provision defining “love jihad”.