Stand-up comedian Hasan Minhaj has been receiving a backlash from netizens over his stint on a Netflix show in which he took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the recent episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Minhaj, a Muslim of Indian-origin, spoke about the current scenario of Indian politics and compared Modi with US President Donald Trump and also gave an insight into several corruption scams.
Here are few of the best moments from the show.
If Trump is a tugger, Modi is a hugger
“They both dislike the press, they both use Twitter to attack their rival. They are both strong man with rabid fans and they both greet people in very bizarre ways. Now, you guys all know Trump’s handshake. Trump yanks people like he is expecting coins to come out of their mouths. And, if Trump’s a tugger, Modi is a hugger.
Modi never held a press conference
He said that Modi is the only Indian Prime Minister to have never held a press conference in his own country. “It’s like posting on Instagram but disabling comments.”
2019 Lok Sabha election
He said, “If the 2014 elections was a referendum on the Congress party’s massive failures, the 2019 election is a referendum on Modi’s economic promises. He promised to put Indians to work but unemployment is the highest it’s been in 45 years. Modi government has been accused of hiding unemployment data.”
But Minhaj’s act did not go down well with several social media users as they started using #BoycottNetflix on Twitter.
One user called him “biased” and wrote: “#BoycottNetflix as it’s spring Hasan Minhaj, who is trying to put his biased views on Indian polity. If at all, he is so humorous why not make some observations on other side.”
Another user described Minhaj as “anti-Hindu”.
“Look at this anti-Hindu/anti-India Propaganda by Hasan Minhaj on Netflix. Boycott Netflix.”
According to one user, Minhaj’s stint is the “worst form of shameless hinduphobia on display”.
This is not the first time that Minhaj has faced criticism for his comic act. In the past, Netflix dropped an episode of Minhaj’s show in Saudi Arabia after the Saudi government complained that the episode – which is critical of the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – violated its cybercrime laws.
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Indian election coverage by @hasanminhaj is the worst form of shameless hinduphobia on display.. @netflix and @NetflixIndia giving a platform to this bigot is disgusting #boycottnetflix
— Pradeep yadav (@pip_15) March 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/km8040/status/1108119659453313025
https://twitter.com/ranisikha16/status/1108104487787470848
https://twitter.com/eterneeti/status/1108096010876788736
But some praised him for his take on Indian politics ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Singer-composer Vishal Dadlani urged people to watch Minhaj’s show.
He tweeted: “You have to watch this show and especially this episode if you live/vote in India.”
Comedian Kunal Kamra found Minhaj’s show “bold, brave, hilarious”.
“Netflix India as you notice great traffic on this episode, you would realise that shying away from confrontational content whether political or social is bad for business…,” Kamra added.
Watch @hasanminhaj's Patriot Act on Indian elections…
Bold, Brave, Hillarious. @NetflixIndia as you notice great traffic on this episode, you would realize that shying away from confrontational content whether political or social is bad for business…
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) March 18, 2019
You HAVE to watch this show (and especially this episode if you live/vote in India.) @hasanminhaj , I can't even imagine what your comment-pages look like right now! 🤘🏾 https://t.co/VFtGAgGmLq
— VISHAL DADLANI (@VishalDadlani) March 19, 2019
