After Mehbooba, Mamata Lends Support to Sushma Swaraj Against Trolls

Kolkata: After PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, it was the turn of Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee to come out in support of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who was trolled on Twitter for “appeasing Muslims” after she helped an inter-faith couple get their passport last month.

In a tweet on Monday, Banerjee said, “Strongly condemn the language used on the social media against @sushmaswaraj Ji. She is a senior politician. We must respect each other and must never indulge in any form of verbal abuse.”

Banerjee and Swaraj are known to have cordial relations despite political differences, and often exchange greetings on special occasions. On February 14, the West Bengal chief minister wished Swaraj on her 66th birthday.

In March 2017, hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sprung a surprise by announcing Ram Nath Kovind as its pick for the president’s post in July, Banerjee opposed the candidature and said: “The office of President is a key post. Someone of the stature of Sushma Swaraj or Advani ji could have been made the candidate. I respect Advani ji, Sushma ji.”

The external affairs minister has been attacked by trolls on Twitter since the transfer of a Passport Seva Kendra official in Lucknow over allegedly insulting a Hindu-Muslim couple. According to the couple, Vikas Mishra asked the husband to convert to Hinduism and pulled up the wife for marrying a Muslim.

A section of social media had targeted Swaraj and her ministry for taking action against Mishra, claiming that he was just doing his duty.

The minister had taken it on the chin and retweeted some of the tweets that were even abusive and communal in nature. She also posted a poll asking Twitterati if they approved of such posts. After 24 hours of polling, results revealed that though 57% respondents supported her, 43% felt the trolling was justified.