New Delhi: Former Pakistan Minister Fawad Chaudhry remarks on the Lok Sabha elections and his sharing a post of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday triggered a sharp exchange of words between the two on social media, with the BJP too eventually wading into the controversy.
The row, which came on the day when Delhi votes in the Lok Sabha polls, erupted after Chaudhry — a minister in the erstwhile Imran Khan government — reshared a post in which Kejriwal had written that he had voted with his family.
“I voted against dictatorship, unemployment and inflation,” the Delhi CM posted on X.
मैंने अपने पिता, पत्नी और बच्चों के साथ आज वोट डाला। मेरी माता जी की तबियत बहुत ख़राब है। वो नहीं जा पाईं। मैंने तानाशाही, बेरोज़गारी और महंगाई के ख़िलाफ़ वोट डाला। आप भी वोट डालने ज़रूर जाएँ। pic.twitter.com/iCot3wOybH
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 25, 2024
Sharing this post, Chaudhry wrote: “May peace and harmony defeat forces of hate and extremism #MorePower #IndiaElection2024”.
May peace and harmony defeat forces of hate and extremism #MorePower #IndiaElection2024 https://t.co/O3YMM1KWlM
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 25, 2024
Anticipating that the BJP would latch on to Chaudhry’s post, Kejriwal shot back saying: “Chaudhry sahab, myself and the people of my country are fully capable of handling our issues. We don’t need your tweet. Currently, the situation in Pakistan is very bad. You handle your country.”
https://twiitter.com/ArvindKejriwal/status/1794262645392166968
The AAP chief put up another post, adding: “The elections being held in India is our internal matter. India will not tolerate the interference of the biggest sponsor of terrorism”. In his response, Chaudhry, who had announced his parting of ways with Khan in May last year, agreed that while elections were India’s internal matter, extremism was “borderless” and “dangerous for anyone”.
Chaudhry, who served as Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister and also held the science and technology portfolio, followed it up with another post, suggesting BJP uses Pakistan bashing to “express anti-Muslim sentiments”.
Meanwhile, the BJP seized the opportunity, claiming that Chaudhry’s remarks “vindicated” the party’s allegation that “India’s enemy Pakistan was also backing Kejriwal and his corruption”.
“We have seen from day one that Kejriwal is working with forces inimical to India. Why has Pakistan intervened on the day Delhi is voting? Five phases of voting are over. Why did it not happen before?” BJP’s Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva asked while addressing reporters.
This comes less than a month after another one of Chaudhry’s posts on Indian elections led another row.
On 1 May, Chaudhry shared a video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s poll speech, with the caption ‘Rahul on fire’.
“If Modi g (sic) and BJP can be so rattled by my one tweet, imagine what Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Enlightened and progressive Hindus together can do? These classes must unite to defeat narrative of division and hatred support anyone who can stop menace of Modi be it Rahul or Mumta Baner Ji or Kejrewal (sic)… give your support to one who can win against Modi for safer region and peace… defeat hate monger BJP,” the post said on 3 May.
This led to Prime Minister Narendra Modi taunting the Congress. “Well, politicians from Pakistan are entering the electoral discourse of India by endorsing the Congress party’s ‘shehzada’,” Modi had told news agency PTI.
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