Bhavish Aggarwal vs Kunal Kamra: Now, Ola founder's IIT background takes centre stage; here's why

Stand-up Comedian Kunal Kamra and Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal got into a heated argument on social media when Kamra tweeted on X (formerly Twitter), raising concerns about the caliber of the company's electric cars. A photo of an Ola center where the EVs are parked in a congested area and are chewing dust was posted by Kamra.

In the latest twist, Aggarwal’s academic credentials have become a talking point. He completed a bachelor's degree in computer engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 2008. As the verbal jabs continue, Aggarwal’s distinguished background as an IIT Bombay alumnus is being highlighted by supporters, bringing his sharp intellect and entrepreneurial journey to the forefront of the debate while others are firm, saying just because he's an IITian, can't he be trolled for his 'rude, arrogant' behaviour.

"If a person is From IIT - He Can’t Be A Chomu ?" a Reddit user wrote.

Another commented, "What's with the JEE RANK btw.... Is this guy indicating that there are 22 individuals who could have made a better OLA than him, because that's my take from this...Man...these IIT rankings.... it's like god's gospel...for some people."

Another user commented, "Koi IITian murder kardega tb bhi kaheinge before you put him in jail, remember he is ayeayetea grad"

One wrote, "He is being trolled for his moronic statements. Not becuase he couldnt solve some calculus problem."

Also read: Don't tell me Godse is your god: Comedian Kunal Kamra to VHP after his Gurugram show cancelled

War of words between Kunal Kamra & Bhavish Aggarwal: A Timeline

Bhavish Aggarwal and Kunal Kamra engaged in a bitter exchange on social media after the latter shared a post highlighting issues with the electric vehicles manufactured by the company. Kamra shared a picture of an Ola service centre where the EVs were parked in a tight space biting dust. 

 "Do Indian consumers have a voice? Do they deserve this? Two-wheelers are many daily wage workers' lifeline," Kamra said while retweeting a post by Aggarwal where the latter had shared the photo of a picturesque Ola Gigafactory.

"Anyone who has an issue with OLA electric, leave your story below tagging all," he said, tagging Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Ministry of Consumer Affairs in the post.

Many people in the comment sections shared their unpleasant experience with Ola EVs. "Worse is the leader has no reply. Ola, an Indian company, is treating Indian customers how fly by night Chinese companies treat the entire continent of Africa. Shame @bhash," said Kamra in reply to a comment on his post.

The post triggered a response from Bhavish Aggarwal, who accused Kamra of targeting his company through a "paid tweet".

"Since you care so much @kunalkamra88, come and help us out. I’ll even pay more than you earned for this paid tweet or from your failed comedy career. Or else sit quiet and let us focus on fixing the issues for the real customers. We’re expanding service network fast and backlogs will be cleared soon," Aggarwal tweeted.

Kamra didn’t let Aggarwal’s taunts slide. “Paid tweet, failed comedy career, and sit quietly. Indian businessman at their humble best,” he shot back.

The stand-up comic further challenged Aggarwal to prove his claims about being paid for the tweet. “If you can prove I am paid for the tweet... I'll delete all social media and sit quietly forever,” he said.

He also shared a clip from a past stand-up performance, saying, "On my failed comedy career here's a clip from last year when I surprised an audience and opened for Grover. Anything else you arrogant, substandard, prick."

To this, Bhavis Aggarwal quipped, "Chot lagi? Dard hua? (Did it hurt? It's all work here!) Aaja (come to) service centre. Bahut kaam hai (We have a lot of work). I will pay better than your flop shows pay you. Show your audience how much you truly care and whether you're only gas."

Also read: 'I'll pay you more than your flop comedy shows': Bhavish Aggarwal after Kunal Kamra flags quality of Ola EVs