Trolling Sushma Swaraj for transfer of officer is preposterous

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj became a target for trolls after an allegedly prejudiced regional passport officer in Lucknow was transferred+ for alleged discriminatory behaviour.

A Hindu-Muslim couple accused the officer of telling the Muslim husband to convert to Hinduism if he wanted his passport. The officer denied he was discriminatory and said he was just following procedure. He was transferred to Gorakhpur from Lucknow a day after the alleged incident came to light.


Swaraj was out of the country when the Lucknow incident occurred, as she said in her tweet yesterday, that she also used to cleverly highlight all the troll attacks on her.


Here's how trolls attacked Swaraj and why they are wrong:
Troll Attack 1: Swaraj is lying when saying she didn't know about the Lucknow incident as she was traveling abroad.


Swaraj is very active on social media and has won plaudits for responding promptly to requests for help. So why shouldn't she be believed when she says she isn't aware of the nitty gritty of what happened in Lucknow? Swaraj is the external affairs minister. She can't be expected to know about low level transfers - that very likely occurred via due process - especially not when she's traveling abroad on work. She had a packed schedule on her Europe trip. She visited four countries - Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg - where she met not just with her political counterparts but also with the Indian diaspora. Expecting her to be informed in detail about a transfer at a regional passport office is plain ridiculous.

Troll Attack 2: Swaraj has an "Islamic kidney" and "is almost dead".


This attack is beyond sick. Taking aim at someone's health - Swaraj had a kidney transplant in late 2016 - is disgraceful, low and shows a sick mind. It's unconscionable. Nothing whatsoever justifies this.

Troll Attack 3: Swaraj is 'sickular', playing appeasement politics, favours Muslims


First, there's no connection between "minority appeasement" and the transfer of an allegedly erring officer of the law. Second, even if due process wasn't followed, what role does Swaraj have in this? The decision to transfer the officer was taken by the regional passport office. Clearly, they considered that the officer gravely erred in his behaviour. You can't expect Swaraj to micro-manage things, especially at the level of a regional passport office. Trolls sitting at their desks and on their phones seem to think they know how other people should do their jobs. They need to look inward and see whether they are behaving appropriately and decorously and not wax effluent about others.

Troll Attack 4: Swaraj is playing the 'victim card' and by retweeting trolls she's demeaning herself.




Swaraj 'liking' the trolls' tweets to highlight them was a masterstroke. Obviously, trolls can dish it out but have no stomach to take it when they're called out. By highlighting trolls' abuses, Swaraj turned a mirror on the hateful side of society. She was perfectly within her right to do that. In fact, she won this battle.