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Journalism of Courage
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra was put on IndiGo airline’s no-fly list after he posted a video of him heckling journalist Arnab Goswami on a flight, which went viral online. The comedian was subsequently barred from other airlines like Air India and SpiceJet and on social media people responded with memes of alternate modes of transport he could use.
IndiGo later said in a tweet that Kamra was banned from the airline for six months for “his conduct onboard was unacceptable behaviour”. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also took to Twitter and said that they had advised other airlines to impose similar restrictions on Kamra.
Express Explained | Kunal Kamra barred on flights: What are the rules?
The comedian chose to respond to the airline on Twitter.
After Air India said they have also banned him “until further notice”, Kamra again took to Twitter to respond with a story of how he had insisted on paying for carrying excess luggage:
However, as news of the bans spread, people took to social media to suggest alternate modes of transportation for Kamra. While some thought IndiGo’s decision was justified, others questioned Air India’s decision to ban him:
https://twitter.com/yagnikkkkkk/status/1222375762734583808
https://twitter.com/Nehr_who/status/1222226845812154368
https://twitter.com/Vishj05/status/1222361005121925120
As memes with #KunalKamra trended, the comedian also shared a meme saying he’d be banned from road transport also:
He also claimed that he couldn’t book a ticket on Indian Railways official site, only to be told by IRCTC that the website being closed for bookings for 35 minutes around midnight is nothing new.
In a statement, Kamra said he “politely asked” Goswami to have a conversation and later gave the news anchor “a monologue about what I felt about his journalism”.
“The moment the stewardess asked me to move, I went back to my seat in 20 seconds. I apologised to each crew member personally and to both the pilots, by staying back till the end, for any inconvenience that I might have caused during the flight,” he said.
