On Sunday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, one of the Modi government’s loved ministers, was trolled and abused on Twitter.
She is being savagely trolled on Twitter over the transfer of a Lucknow passport official who is alleged of harassing an interfaith couple in Uttar Pradesh. She pulled up the employee for harassing an interfaith couple, who was seeking to renew their passports.
The couple had put allegations that the officer asked Muslim husband to convert to Hinduism if he wanted his passport. The officer denied all these allegations and said he was only following the procedures.
He was transferred to Gorakhpur from Lucknow a day after this incident came to light. The couple were issued the passports the next day. They also thanked the Minister Swaraj.
After being savagely trolled on Twitter, she had a savage reply. She called out all the handlers who trolled her by ‘liking’ their posts. She even retweeted some of the posts. The trolling started last week when Tanvi Seth complained Swaraj about the passport officer employee over Twitter.
The trolls didn’t come only from the general public. It was her own party members too who trolled her on Twitter and made the situation uglier.
Twitter was flooded with hateful messages. Trolls accused her of “pretending to be secular” and even attacked her for her kidney transplant surgery.
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https://twitter.com/raji7373/status/1010456831661989889
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@narendramodi if you believe that you became PM by Hindus votes, sack this publicity hungry #visamata @SushmaSwaraj immediately. If you keep cheating Hindus, you will not be PM after 2019 May.
— Bala Jna (@BalaJna) June 22, 2018
In an official tweet and Facebook post, she announced her return to India. She said: “I was out of India from 17th to 23rd June 2018. I do not know what happened in my absence. However, I am honoured with some tweets. I am sharing them with you. So I have liked them.”
I was out of India from 17th to 23rd June 2018. I do not know what happened in my absence. However, I am honoured with some tweets. I am sharing them with you. So I have liked them.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 24, 2018
An analysis by Hindustan Times revealed that 41 BJP parliamentaries follow about 18 accounts who trolled Swaraj. Out of which, a few are followed by PM Narendra Modi too.
Commenting on it, Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s IT cell, said, “PM following someone is not a character certificate of the person, and is not in any way a guarantee of how the person would conduct himself.”
Even on her Facebook page, she received hateful comments from her own BJP supporters. Some of whom demanded that she should be removed from the union cabinet for being “too secular”.
However, this isn’t the first time a BJP leader had to face the right-wing’s anger on Twitter.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh got trolled in July 2017 by ‘nationalists’ on Twitter after he replied to a tweet by Shuchi Singh Kalra who asked the government to “drag those (Kashmiris) cowards out and cull them“.
BJP Ministers have been maintaining a deafening silence over the issue. Ironically, other parties have come out in Swaraj’s support.
On Twitter, Congress wrote, “No matter the situation or reason, nothing calls for threats of violence, disrespect & abuse. Sushma Swaraj ji, we applaud your decision to call out the heinous trolls of your own party.”
No matter the situation or reason, nothing calls for threats of violence, disrespect & abuse. @SushmaSwaraj ji, we applaud your decision to call out the heinous trolls of your own party.https://t.co/qcB0qemRGZ
— Congress (@INCIndia) June 24, 2018
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said that the “abusive language” used by BJP IT cell workers “should be condemned by one and all”. He has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “take action against such cyber criminals if he really believes in protecting dignity of women”.
No Union Minister has come out in support of Swaraj. Other female ministers like Smriti Irani and Nirmala Sitharaman too have maintained silence.
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I waited for a day to see if any, any BJP MP/leader says anything against the trolling @SushmaSwaraj is facing from mostly their own online cadre. Sadly, none has spoken. And that makes a lot of things clear
— Stuti (@StutiNMishra) June 25, 2018
The Prime Minister himself has committed to ensure women’s rights. He has given several speeches on women’s safety and women empowerment. However, the real situation is totally different.
Bollywood celebrities like Swara Bhaskar and Vishal Dadlani have also spoken out for Swaraj.
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It is SICK and SHAMEFUL the kind of vicious trolling @SushmaSwaraj ji is being subjected to because she & her ministry did their job conscientiously & as per the law of our land. Sad that the anti minority hate by bhakts in our public discourse now doesnt spare their own leaders pic.twitter.com/h4HfFkgr9m
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) June 24, 2018
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Jai ho. The one amongst them, who has been working with compassion & without discrimination. Naturally, they couldn't handle it. The least we citizens can do, is tell Ms. @SushmaSwaraj ji that we appreciate her work. Thanks for rising above the atmosphere of petty hatred, Ma'am! https://t.co/pc25NQEbkj
— VISHAL DADLANI (@VishalDadlani) June 25, 2018
It remains to be seen when the BJP Union Ministers will break this silence.