# Shekhar Suman rejects link between ED raids on his producer and his satire show

Published 2026-10-12T13:27:10Z

> Shekhar Suman says the Enforcement Directorate raids on Shekhar Tonite producer Dharmesh Sangani have nothing to do with his political jokes, and adds that BJP politicians called to praise the show.

Shekhar Suman has brushed aside talk that the Enforcement Directorate's raids on Dharmesh Sangani, the producer of his YouTube satire show Shekhar Tonite, were a response to his jokes about the government. The raids came while his monologues, including one mocking a "tanashaah" (dictator), were picking up attention online.

Speaking in a recent interview, the actor said he never asked Sangani why the agency came calling. He guessed it could be a personal matter for the producer or something tied to a delayed payment, and called it a small issue. He accepted that the timing may lead people to connect the two. Still, he described Sangani as an independent businessman with other dealings and one of hundreds of producers he has worked with, and he pointed to the recent ED action involving Vashu Bhagnani as a similar case.

"I don't think PM Modi is so weak that his government would call me up for such a small show," Suman said. He received no threats. Instead, several BJP politicians rang to praise the programme, and a few even visited his home. He argued that people are speaking up freely, and he rejected the idea of a climate of fear.

After the premiere, some viewers predicted a second episode would never air. Suman said he took Modi's own remarks about welcoming critique at face value, and he reworked a line by poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz to say the world has bigger sorrows than Shekhar Tonite.

He insists the show is pro-people, not anti-BJP. He compared any government to a class monitor who answers to the students when things slip, whoever holds the post. His late-night show Movers & Shakers began in 1997 under a BJP government, returned in 2012 under a Congress-led one, and took digs at both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. He said he respects Modi and Rahul Gandhi equally, but anything wrong has to be called out.

## Related people
- [Rahul Gandhi](https://clapnumber.com/celebrities/rahul-gandhi)
- [Vashu Bhagnani](https://clapnumber.com/celebrities/vashu-bhagnani)
- [Shekhar Suman](https://clapnumber.com/celebrities/shekhar-suman)
- [Manmohan Singh](https://clapnumber.com/celebrities/manmohan-singh)
- [Dharmesh Sangani](https://clapnumber.com/celebrities/dharmesh-sangani)

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Source: https://clapnumber.com/news/shekhar-suman-rejects-link-between-ed-raids-on-his-producer-and-his-satire-show
Retrieved: 2026-10-12