New Delhi: Several Congress leaders Sunday trended #मैं_भी_Rahul or I too am Rahul, a day after they claimed that his Twitter account was “temporarily locked”.
They also posted screenshots and photographs of tweets that Rahul Gandhi posted after meeting with the family of the Dalit girl in Delhi, who died after allegedly being gangraped.
The nine-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a priest and three other men. Twitter had allegedly taken action against Gandhi’s account for posting photographs of him with the family.
On Sunday, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted that even the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and former BJP MP Anju Bala, had tweeted out photographs of the parents.
“On August 2, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes met parents of the daughter of Delhi and put the photos of the parents on Twitter,” he tweeted. “If a former BJP MP and member of SC Commission put photos of parents on Twitter on 3rd August, then it’s fine. However, if Rahul Gandhi asks for justice for his daughter, then it’s a crime!”
He also accused the Modi government of intimidating Twitter to close Rahul Gandhi’s account.
“Instead of giving justice to the daughter of a Dalit, the Modi government is conspiring to suppress the loud voice demanding sympathy and justice,” he tweeted. “Mr Modi, by scaring Twitter, even after closing the account of Mr Rahul Gandhi, you will not be able to suppress the voice of justice from the daughter. Suppress Twitter or file an FIR, justice must be served.”
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera also posted a screenshot of Rahul Gandhi’s tweet, appearing to dare Twitter to lock out his account.
“Now Block #मैं_भी_राहुल,” he tweeted.
Indian Youth Congress president B.V. Srinivas also tweeted with the same hashtag.
“The tears of the parents are saying only one thing — their daughter, the daughter of the country deserves justice. And I am with them on this path of justice.- Mr RahulGandhi. #मैं_भी_राहुल.. lock my account,” he tweeted.
Congress ups the ante
The Congress also held a press conference Sunday and attacked the Modi government over the rape and murder of the nine-year-old in Delhi.
Speaking at the press conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate reportedly said that when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raised the voice of justice for the nine-year-old girl, the BJP and its troll army felt a lot of pain.
“It’s been eight days; PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah are all silent. The government on the strength of its police intimidated and threatened Twitter and got one of Rahul Gandhi’s tweets deleted, his handle blocked,” she said. “Whereas Anju Bala, a member of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and many such handles, on which the photo of the girl’s family is present. But why is the account blocked only for Rahul Gandhi?”
According to reports, another spokesperson Ragini Nayak, who was also at the press conference, accused the government of suppressing the victim’s version.
“When Rahul Gandhi raises his voice, the entire government turns against him. First with spying via Pegasus and now the Twitter handle suspension,” she reportedly said. “Instead of standing with the victim, the government tries to suppress the voice standing with her… We demand a time-bound investigation and hanging of the culprits within six months.”
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
Also read: There’s a new Rahul Gandhi, and he’s taking ‘active’ charge of building Opposition unity