By MNS Qadri
AHMEDABAD—The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is under fire for making a highly controversial and divisive tweet through a caricature on February 19, 2022, after a special designated court delivered a verdict on February 18, 2022, in the Ahmedabad serial blasts case of 2008.
Following widespread protests, Twitter has removed the tweet. On clicking the link, a message pops up saying this tweet violates the social policies of Twitter.
The Gujarat unit of the BJP tweeted a caricature depicting a bunch of white kurta-pyjama clad men with beards and white topis (head caps) hanging from a noose. A blast is shown in the background. Also written is ‘Satyamev Jayate’ and “no pardon to the perpetrators of terror”.
The BJP tweeted this caricature on Saturday after the designated court awarded the death penalty to 49 people convicted in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case. The caricature was posted on the officially verified handle of Gujarat BJP (@BJP4Gujarat).
The tweet has been widely circulated on social media, garnering various reactions.
The Gujarat unit of Congress hit back against the contentious tweet squarely accusing the BJP of taking advantage of the verdict through “controversial tweets”.
Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Manish Doshi said, “Terrorism has no religion, and no one knows it better than the Congress party, which has lost two of its former prime ministers to terrorism.” He added: “Today, BJP is celebrating by making controversial tweets and is taking advantage of the court’s decision. However, such decisions should not be viewed through a political prism, and any opportunity to take political advantage should be avoided.”
However, the BJP, in a defensive mode, said the intention of the tweet was not to target any particular community.
Gujarat BJP’s media cell convenor Yagnesh Dave said, “There was no intention or objective to target any community.” He adds: “The caricature was created (by the party) based on reports from newspapers and news channels.”
Dave, however, did not have any explanation to offer when first he said the caricature was prepared from photographs published by newspapers and TV channels.
But when pointed out that none of these photographs of any of those awarded death sentences was wearing kurta-pyjamas and caps, Dave went in the silent mode and refused to clarify why did the caricature had something else. “The tweet aimed to welcome the unprecedented decision,” he said.
