Political satirist Akash Banerjee, while appearing on a debate on the English news channel NDTV, happened to refer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “the guy who got an award”, in quite a nonchalant way. This did not go down well with the BJP leader also on the show.

Vivek Reddy, the BJP representative on the debate, took offence to Banerjee’s remarks, asking him to “have respect in addressing the Prime Minister”. Political analyst Desh Ratan Nigam also took Reddy’s side and said that a television debate is not the place for satire, although the host of the show, Nidhi Razdan, was of a different view.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was recently presented with the Philip Kotler Presidential Award, leading to a storm of controversy and derision in almost equal measure.

Marketing guru Philip Kotler, after whom the award is named, explained the reasons for picking Modi after facing backlash on social media.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera added another twist to the debate when he asked Reddy why he had a problem with the mention of “gai” (cow). Khera’s dig at the BJP’s obsession with cows had most members of the panel laughing. The entire debate can be watched here:

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