Comedian Daniel Fernandes on Saturday cancelled stand-up performance in Telangana’s Hyderabad after receiving threats from BJP MLA T Raja Singh about a joke he had allegedly made about the Jain community.
In a clip from a performance he had posted on social media, Fernandes had joked 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 Eid al-Adha.
Some members of the Jain community had paid Rs 15 lakh to buy 124 goats to “save” them from being slaughtered which was followed by a hate campaign against Muslims online.
Within hours of the video being posted, Fernandes’ Instagram post was filled with hate comments. On Friday, he posted a statement on Instagram saying he would remove the joke. Fernandes apologised to the Jain community and said that he had received multiple “abusive and threatening” messages after he initially posted the video.
On Saturday, Bharatiya Janata Party leader T Raja Singh from Hyderabad, who is accused in many hate speech cases, said in a video that if Fernandes did not cancel the show, “our workers will come there and thrash you.”
“We are still receiving calls, messages, and emails threatening us with violence and vandalism. 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,” Fernandes 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.
