Mumbai, Apr 1 (PTI) Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal on Tuesday accused the Mahayuti government of trying to turn the state into a' police state', claiming notices were issued to members of the audience who attended comedian Kunal Kamra's show.

Citing reports, he said issuing such notices indicates an attempt to turn Maharashtra into a police-controlled regime.

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Mumbai Police, however, denied issuing notices to members of the audience who attended Kamra's controversial performance at a studio in a hotel in Khar area for questioning.

In a fresh attack on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who handles the Home ministry, Sapkal alleged ministers from the ruling party are issuing open threats, while the home minister sits "blindfolded like Dhritarashtra".

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"The Home Minister and the Director General of Police have become mere showpieces," he alleged.

Kamra on Monday failed to appear before police in connection with the case registered for his "traitor" jibe alluding to Deputy CM Eknath Shinde even as police personnel visited his Mahim home to check his availability.

"The government was rattled by Kamra's satirical poetry. Is watching Kunal Kamra's show a crime? Punishing the innocent, and letting the guilty go free is the Mahayuti government's policy.

"The home minister and the police chief are mere puppets. They are quick to act against opposition, but criminals roam free," Sapkal alleged in a statement.

He said politicians should accept jokes about them with a big heart and treat the satire humorously.

"Even first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former PM Manmohan Singh, and ex-Congress president Sonia Gandhi have been subjected to harsh satire, but never were artists or their audiences harassed in such a manner," he said.

Kamra said vandals damaged the studio where Kamra recorded his show even though the comedian didn't mention Eknath Shinde by name.

He alleged that the vandals are allowed to roam free while innocent viewers are being harassed by the police. "What kind of justice is this?"

Sapkal claimed the crime graph in Maharashtra has been on the rise since the BJP-led government to power three months ago.

He mentioned the stabbing attack on actor Saif Ali Khan, the murder of a sarpanch in Beed, custodial killing in Parbhani, gunning down of a former minister (Baba Siddique), and the alleged rape of a woman inside a stationary bus at Swargate in Pune.

"From celebrities to village heads, no one is safe in Maharashtra. The Home Department and the police are unable to rein in the crime," he said and claimed illicit drugs are readily available in urban and rural areas.

Sapkal the state DGP who is on extension should be honourably retired and replaced with a competent and impartial police chief.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)