Comedian Kapil Sharma tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a series of irate tweets complaining about corruption while taking sarcastic digs at the much-touted “Achhe Din”.
I am paying 15 cr income tax from last 5 year n still i have to pay 5 lacs bribe to BMC office for making my office @narendramodi
— Kapil Sharma (@KapilSharmaK9) September 9, 2016
Yeh hain aapke achhe din ? @narendramodi
— Kapil Sharma (@KapilSharmaK9) September 9, 2016
Kapil Sharma alleged that he was asked for a Rs. 5 lakh bribe by BMC, Mumbai’s civic body for setting up an office. Considering the kind of social influence that Kapil wields, Social Media quickly split into two sections, where one started confronting Kapil Sharma and the other started shielding him. The social media savvy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis was quick to respond to the allegations too. He replied to Kapil Sharma’s tweet asking him about the details of the incident.
Kapilbhai pls provide all info.
Have directed MC,BMC to take strictest action.
We will not spare the culprit.@KapilSharmaK9 @narendramodi— Devendra Fadnavis (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Dev_Fadnavis) September 9, 2016
Now Kapil Sharma’s angry tweet can be genuine or can have ulterior motives but at this juncture when a lot of things are sketchy, the following points become of paramount importance:
Why did Kapil Sharma pay bribe money?
Section 12 in The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 clearly lays down that bribing a public servant (Government employee) is a grave offence. It also invites penalty. Kapil Sharma confesses to have paid a bribe amount of Rs. 5 Lac, does this not make him a party to the crime as well?
Why didn’t Kapil Sharma expose the officials involved?
If Kapil was forced to cough up bribe money, why didn’t he expose the officials involved? Many twitter users asked Kapil to expose the corrupt officials and CM Fadnavis himself asked him to divulge details, but Kapil strangely maintained a stoic silence.
Why did Kapil Sharma tag PM Modi?
Even if we agree that Kapil was persuaded to pay the bribe money and there were officials involved trying to make him do so, what was the motive behind tagging the PM of India? People shouldn’t tag IT Ministry if there is a blip in their internet network. Tagging PM simply hints at converting this in to a political battle.
What about BMC’s counter allegations?
BMC officials have thrown a counter allegations at Sharma stating that he was trying to get an illegal construction approved. Now this opens the case from both ends. So was Kapil Sharma trying to get an illegal deal approved by bribing BMC officials?
Why this tweet comes immediately after AAP Punjab convener Ghuggi said that Kapil Sharma ‘might’ promote AAP in Punjab?
Celebrated Punjabi comedian and now AAP Punjab Convener Gurpreet Ghuggi clearly mentioned that Kapil is a dear friend of his and he ‘might’ campaign for AAP in Punjab if invited. 2 Days later, Kapil Sharma tags the PM of India and starts taking digs at Acche Din, very a la Arvind Kejriwal.
Where was Kapil Sharma’s morality sleeping when Service Tax department declared him a tax evader?
Although not related to the topic under discussion but certainly an important incident to understand the moral ‘uprightness’ of Kapil Sharma. In 2014, he was grilled by Mumbai service tax department for five hours for evading the service tax to the tune of Rs 65 lakh. Looks like he was not quite ‘moral’ back then.
Celebrities have always been used as political weapons. At this juncture Kapil looks like a political weapon too. AAP’s over enthusiasm has killed their chances in Punjab, a state critical for their political validity. Kapil Sharma is ‘probably’ trying to bring them back to track. Too bad, people called his bluff.
I will be more than happy to stand corrected if new facts emerge and I do not deny that there is corruption in Civic Bodies. We’ll be doing a special series on it in coming days.