Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Sunday, 24 June, took to Twitter to highlight the hateful tweets she received over the Tanvi Seth passport issue while she was on an official trip abroad.
Swaraj received hateful and abusive tweets for her “silence” on the transfer of the officer, Vikas Mishra, who had allegedly harassed Lucknow’s interfaith couple Tanvi Seth and Mohammad Anas Siddiqui.
In a sarcastic tweet, Swaraj said that she was honoured to receive them and has ‘liked’ them for her followers to see.
The couple had alleged that they were shamed for their interfaith marriage. Mishra had reportedly asked asked Siddiqui to take pheras (a custom in a Hindu traditional marriage) and convert to Hinduism in order to get his passport – a claim the officer has denied.
After the furore, Mishra was transferred, which did not go down well with many on the right. The ecosystem erupted, blaming Swaraj for alleged “injustice” against the officer who they say was merely doing his duty.
Instead of directly engaging the trolls, Swaraj chose to simply ‘like’ the tweets criticising her and shared this with her followers in an attempt to name and shame.
Twitterati Allege “Appeasement”
The tweets liked by Swaraj show a spate of comments from “appeasement of minorities” to favouring visa applicants from Pakistan. Here are a few:
Swaraj was on a four-nation visit to France, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg when the controversy erupted.
To Sushma’s Rescue
As the External Affairs minister weathered the attack, there were many who backed her and called the remarks distasteful and disrespectful.
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