Appropriate or retweet?
Yogendra Yadav-led (pictured) Swaraj India could soon be an ally of the Congress in the Karnataka Assembly. The Congress has decided not to field its candidate against Swaraj India candidate Darshan Puttannaiah from Melukote. Darshan Puttannaiah is the son of farmer leader KS Puttananaiah, who died in February while he was a sitting legislator from the seat. But that doesn't mean Yadav is going to pull his punches against Congress leaders. For the past several months, Swaraj India had been tweeting a minimum support price (MSP) 'alert', data from wholesale markets to show if farmers were getting the MSP for their produce. On Wednesday, Yadav tweeted: "Happy to note (Congress spokesperson) Randeep Singh Surjewala-ji that you find our #MSP alert so valuable... But wasn't sure why you need to get the same info typed and designed afresh each day? Simple retweet or quote retweet will save you a lot of effort, and keep my colleagues happy."
Etiquette check
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Rajya Sabha member MK Kanimozhi on Tuesday criticised Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit for patting the cheek of a female journalist who had asked him a question. "Even if the intention (of patting the cheek) is above suspicion, a person who holds a public office has to understand that there is a decorum to it and violating a woman journalist’s personal space does not reflect the dignity or the respect that should be shown to any human being," Kanimozhi tweeted. On Wednesday, the Governor apologised to the journalist, but Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national secretary H Raja took to Twitter calling Kanimozhi an illegitimate child of DMK leader M Karunanidhi. "There is no such thing as an 'illegitimate child'. All children are perfectly legitimate. Will the BJP please explain where it stands?" asked senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.
Historic tweet
Social media users went berserk on Wednesday after Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb said “internet and satellite communication had existed in the days of Mahabharata,” while inaugurating a public distribution system-related workshop in Agartala. “I am sure ATMs had cash those days,” tweeted a user who goes by the name Common Man. Author and historian William Dalrymple rued: “What reasonable person could argue with this? More evidence of the BJP's magnificent grasp of history..."