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‘Will damage party’: Discontent in BJP over removal of Haryana IT cell chief for Prophet tweet

Arun Yadav was dismissed from post Thursday amid growing social media clamour for his arrest over old tweet. Many in BJP say such 'harsh' action against 'loyal' workers is unwarranted.

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New Delhi:  The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has removed its Haryana IT cell-incharge Arun Yadav amid a growing chorus for his arrest related to a 2017 tweet on Islam and Prophet Muhammad.

While the BJP didn’t officially give any reason, a party functionary said there was a social media campaign demanding Yadav’s arrest for his ‘derogatory’ tweets against the Prophet.

The “surprise” action has not gone down well with the BJP cadre, who claim such action against ‘nationalists’ and ‘loyal’ party workers might not result in short-term loss, but will have a negative impact in the long run.

The action has surprised many within the BJP, who feel ‘such posts’ can’t be a reason for such ‘harsh’ action.

“Ever since the Nupur Sharma controversy, many BJP functionaries are being targeted, and old posts are being dug out on social media. The party should not take action in haste and rather being removed, he should have been given a warning,” said a party functionary.

“These tweets are made viral by the Left and Pakistani ecosystem army who simply target Right-wingers. If the BJP starts taking action against party workers for these issues then who will fight for the cause? What’s the difference between you and the Congress then?” another party functionary said, expressing displeasure over the issue.

“There are a number of leaders from other parties who have joined the BJP recently and in a way, the ideology gets adulterated. So far, the BJP has had hardcore leaders with saffron blood. In Nupur Sharma’s case, we were told that the UAE and Oman are unhappy. Is ‘Brand Modi’ and the BJP smaller than these countries? This action is not at all being viewed in light of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas Aur Vishwas. This may not cause any damage in the short term, but has the potential to damage the core of the party in the long run,” said another leader.

‘Potential to embarrass the party’

However, a senior BJP leader said that Yadav’s controversial tweet had the potential to not only ‘embarrass the party’ but create the same atmosphere again that had happened during the Nupur Sharma episode.

“A number of people on Twitter had posted his controversial tweet demanding action and they had, in fact, tagged a number of senior leaders not only from Haryana but Delhi too. Had we not taken action, it would have snowballed into a major controversy,” said the leader.

Many social media users, in fact, had compared Yadav’s tweet with that of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, alleging differential treatment.

ThePrint reached out to Yadav who said no reason has been given to him for his removal. “Right now, I don’t have that position. No reason has been given to me regarding that.”

“It has not affected the party here as she has no relations with the Haryana BJP. If at all, people within the party might now be more conscious in terms of what they say or write,” he said in reply to a query regarding the Nupur Sharma controversy.

In a statement Thursday, Haryana BJP secretary Gulshan Bhatia said that Yadav was removed from the post with immediate effect.  Bhatia, however, did not mention the reasons for the expulsion.

A second party source added that this might be a temporary removal and Yadav may be ‘adjusted’ and given some other responsibility later on. “This is a standard organisational movement, He had been taking care of duty very diligently, and this is a procedural movement,” said Haryana BJP spokesperson Raman Malik.

However, another party functionary said Yadav being given another responsibility soon might be ‘difficult’

With inputs from Revathi Krishnan

(Edited by Tony Rai)


Also Read: Crossed ‘Laxman Rekha’, say ex-HC judges, civil servants on SC bench’s remarks on Nupur Sharma


 

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