Stand-up comedian Pulkit Mani has announced that his shows scheduled in Lucknow and Kanpur have been cancelled, days after his mimicry of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in Indore triggered a political firestorm.

Mani claimed the decision was prompted by “repeated threats from goon activists” but did not elaborate.

Mani has over 6,17,000 followers on Instagram and over 1,13,000 subscribers on YouTube.

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The cancellations come two days after Mani performed at Gandhi’s student-focused event in Indore on September 19. During the programme, Mani performed a skit with Gandhi in which he impersonated Modi’s mannerisms and speaking style. The performance also referenced Modi’s interactions with foreign leaders and an incident in which the Prime Minister had offered a chair to an elderly woman. At one point, Mani repeated the line: “Maa ko kursi do, maa.”

The performance — and in particular, that line — triggered a storm: while the state’s BJP leaders accused Gandhi and the Congress of using the stage to mock the prime minister, Congress supporters defended it as political satire.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal called Gandhi an “Asanskari naraz fufa” [an angry, immoral uncle]. Goyal wrote that the “need to come on stage every now and then just to drag Prime Minister Modi ji’s name into cheap political theatre never fails to amaze me”. He also asked Gandhi to “look in the mirror”.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, without naming Gandhi, referred to the programme as “jhooth ki goonj” [an echo of untruth] and said the behaviour of the Congress leader was an insult to “naari shakti” [women power].

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Referring to the chair incident featured in the skit, Adityanath said that any civilised person would first offer a chair to a woman, an elderly person or a person with disabilities. He also accused the Congress of lacking such “values” and said those whose objective was to insult India and “Indianness” created confusion and anarchy in society.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav described Gandhi’s conduct as “extremely shameful, condemnable, and unbecoming” and alleged that the Congress leader had encouraged a message that could mislead young people.

Referring to Modi’s public emphasis on the dignity of women, Yadav said: “Our visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, who had set an exemplary example by placing the honour of mothers above all, is being mocked in this manner, which is an insult to mothers across the country.” He linked the controversy to the upcoming Navratri celebrations, saying: “In just a few days, we will invoke Mother Bhavani during Navratri, and girls will be worshipped in every home.”

The Congress defended Gandhi’s wider campaign and sought to shift the focus back to the issues raised at the Indore event. Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said Gandhi had exposed “the system that has been suppressing students”. He alleged that the BJP-RSS had seized control of institutions across the country and said the education system had been “hollowed out and corrupted”.

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“Because this system fears students. Students ask questions, demand accountability. Now that Rahul ji stands with them, the fear among students has ended,” Ramesh said.