New Delhi: Union home minister Rajnath Singh found himself in unfamiliar social media territory on Tuesday as trolls who normally work as online shields for his party lowered the boom on him.
Tweeting about the attack that claimed seven lives, Singh commended the Kashmiri people for condemning the attack and keeping ‘the spirit of Kashmiriyat alive’:
The people of Kashmir have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath yatris. It shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 11, 2017
Within minutes of his first tweet, the home minister was subjected to vicious trolling by the ‘nationalists’ on Twitter.
“Where was this Kashmiriyat when Kashmiri pandits were being kicked out?” tweeted Rohit Patnaik, whose Twitter bio claims that he is a “rightwing Hindu Oriya traditionalist”.
Many questioned if Singh was in fact a “Thakur” or if he had ever visited a RSS shakha.
Some even demanded his resignation.
Nothing less – #FireRajnath https://t.co/W0Me04sDW7
— Kundan Srivastav (@Kun_Srivastav) July 11, 2017
“Hum iski kadi ninda karte hain”
Singh, who is also called ‘Ninda Mama‘, is often trolled for his standard response – ‘We strongly condemn this’ – after similar attacks in the past.
“Time for condemning terror has passed. Those responsible should be burnt alive,” tweeted wrestler Geeta Phogat.
One of the tweets that crossed the line was by Shuchi Singh Kalra, editor of on online travel publication of MakeMyTrip.com, a major online travel company. She tweeted:
“Who gives a **** about the spirit of Kashmiriyat at this moment? It’s not your job to placate. Just drag those cowards out and cull them.”
Singh was quick to hit back.
Ms Kalra I certainly do. It is absolutely my job to ensure peace & tranquility in all parts of the country. All Kashmiris are not terrorists https://t.co/YdTnjDND9i
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 11, 2017
While Singh drew praise for his response from many who are normally critical of the Modi government, not everyone was impressed.
While Shefali Vaidya, a prominent right wing tweleb, compared him to Brutus, others slammed him for trying to score ‘brownie points with Commies’.
Surprisingly, neither the Prime Minister nor the other cabinet ministers tweeted in his support or retweeted his tweet — which is common practice.
BJP MP Balbir Punj was one of the few leaders who tweeted in support of Singh.
Congratulations for separating common Kashmiris from black deed of cowardly Pak inspired terrorists. Entire country united against terror
— Balbir Punj (@balbirpunj) July 11, 2017
Bravo @rajnathsingh ji. You have my respect & admiration. I salute you. Thank you for your statesmanship & leadership today. https://t.co/At2daqlnEI
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 11, 2017