New Delhi: Support just keeps pouring in for comedian Kunal Kamra after he was banned from flying on four airlines, IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir.
First, we saw people make fake accounts to ban the comedian from everything from walking to riding in an autorickshaw. Then we saw people all over the world hanging handmade boards which read “Reserved for Kunal Kamra”. Then the pilot who flew Kunal Kamra and Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami questioned IndiGo Airlines’ basis for banning the comedian for six months without first speaking to him. Most recently, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap spoke out in support of Kamra by saying that he would not fly by IndiGo Airlines as a means of showing his solidarity.
People online even flayed the airlines for their move by making the #boycottIndigo trend on Twitter.
Soon after these developments, the comedian sued IndiGo for a cool Rs 25 lakhs.
Now, people are taking their dissent from online to offline, by occupying the seats on IndiGo’s flights.
According to a report by Patrika, people started protesting IndiGo’s ban on Kamra on a flight from Varanasi to Delhi. Pictures of these protests have surfaced on social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook, where people are seen holding posters that read “We condemn IndiGo’s ban on Kunal Kamra” with the #YouDivideWeMultiply.
The photos were posted by one of the girls, who was part of the protest.
Taking to Twitter, Medha Kapoor wrote, “In solidarity with @kunalkamra88 on an IndiGo flight while being compliant with all DGCA passenger guidelines!”
In solidarity with @kunalkamra88 on an IndiGo flight while being compliant with all DGCA passenger guidelines! pic.twitter.com/QEnyoMLcYQ
— Medha Kapoor (@MedhaKapoor4) February 6, 2020
When other users asked why they booked flight tickets just to protest the actions of the airlines, Medha responded in another tweet, “Our tickets were booked way before the incident happened so we decided to travel one last time and make that count.”
Medha’s tweet was flooded with replies from other users, many of whom criticised her and her friends for “endangering fellow passengers”.
To these criticisms, Medha replied, “No, nobody said a word to us. When security personnel asked us to sit down, we complied. It was very peaceful.”