Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday claimed that comedian Kunal Kamra’s joke about him was like a “supari”, or a hit job, to make allegations against someone.

At an event organised by BBC Marathi, Shinde said that decorum should be maintained in satirical performances, otherwise the “action causes a reaction”.

While there is freedom of speech, there should be a limit, the deputy chief minister said in response to a reporter’s question about Kamra’s joke.

“This is not freedom of speech, this is working for someone,” Shinde said, alleging that it was a conspiracy to defame him.

On Sunday, Kamra posted videos on his YouTube channel in which he had ostensibly criticised Shinde and alluded to him as a “traitor” while performing a joke. Kamra was referring to Shinde’s 2022 rebellion against Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and the ensuing political crisis in Maharashtra. He did not mention Shinde by name.

After the videos were widely shared on social media, workers of the Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena on Sunday night vandalised The Habitat studio in Mumbai’s Khar, where Kamra’s performance was recorded.

When asked about the attack by his party workers on The Habitat, the deputy chief minister said that he does not support vandalism.

The state government has sought an apology from Kamra for his joke.

Kamra said on Monday night that he does not “fear this mob” and will not apologise for the joke.

In response, Maharashtra minister Gulab Raghunath Patil told reporters on Tuesday that “if he [Kamra] doesn’t apologise, we will speak to him in our own style...”

Patil added: “Shiv Sena won’t leave him...we won’t tolerate this insult...if he doesn’t apologise, he will come out, where will he hide?...Shiv Sena will show its real form.”

Kamra summoned by Mumbai Police

The Mumbai Police on Tuesday said that it had summoned Kamra for questioning in a case filed against him in connection with his joke, The Indian Express reported. He was asked to appear before the police by 11 am on Tuesday.

The comedian was booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to statements conducing to public mischief and defamation. The first information report was filed based on a complaint by Shinde Sena MLA Murji Patel.

Shinde Sena workers granted bail

On Tuesday, 12 Shinde Sena workers, including the faction’s youth wing general secretary, who had been arrested a day earlier for vandalising The Habitat were granted bail by a magistrate’s court, Bar and Bench reported.

About 20 unknown persons have also been booked in the FIR.

The Habitat has said that it will close “till we figure out the best way to provide a platform for free expression without putting ourselves and our property in jeopardy”.

They said they were “extremely broken” by the attack. “Artists are solely responsible for their views and creative choices,” the venue management stated.

“We have never been involved in the content performed by any artist, but the recent events have made us rethink about how we get blamed and targeted every time almost like we are a proxy for the performer,” the statement added.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Monday demolished structures in the UniContinental Hotel, where The Habitat is situated, claiming that rules had been violated.

Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the rival Shiv Sena faction, said that Kamra “has not done any wrong”.

“Calling a ‘traitor’ a ‘traitor’ is not an attack on anyone,” ANI quoted Thackeray as saying.