Farmers protesting against the Shaktipeeth Expressway (Nagpur to Goa), have decided to greet Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during his planned visit to Kolhapur on 5 April 2025 by playing comedian Kunal Kamra’s parody song as a mark of defiance and protest.

The satirical Bollywood-inspired song has received many controversial views and widespread backlash, especially from Shiv Sena members, who vandalized the Habitat studio in Mumbai.

Farmers, under the banner of Shaktipeeth Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti, have accused the Maharashtra government of ignoring its promise of loan waivers and scrapping the project. 

The proposed expressway was approved in 2023. The project requires the acquisition of 9,385 hectares of land, including 265 hectares of forest land, some of which fall in the 11 districts where farmers are reluctant to give up their land — their “only source of livelihood”.

“People may have taken lightly Shinde’s betrayal of his party. But if he betrays the farmers and fails to cancel the project, we will not tolerate it. Last year, 2,900 farmers ended their lives... and these people are organizing Vijay Mela [victory fair]. This is like rubbing salt into the wounds of farmers. He did not meet the farmers during our protest march to Mumbai on March 12. He has no right to come to Kolhapur,” said Shaktipeeth Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti co-ordinator Girish Fonde.