NEW DELHI: Congress has lashed out at BJP accusing it of fermenting, supporting and synchronizing internet trolls.
"Synchronized trolling and strategic lies have become part of BJP’s dirty tricks department," Congress spokesperson Randeep S Surjewala said as he responded to "fake news" suggesting that his party will provide ‘pucca’ houses to Rohingya Muslims if it comes to power after the 2019 elections.
Surjewala's tweet came in the backdrop of incessant trolling of external affairs minister
Sushma Swaraj who has been in the crosshair of internet trolls ever since her ministry gave a passport to an interfaith couple.
Following the attack on Swaraj, the Congress took the opportunity to remind BJP that the "vituperative bots" it had fostered have come back to bite the hands that had fed them.
"If Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh are disturbed about serial abuse, vitriol and vile invective used by Bhakts, trolls and perverts against real and perceived opponents they know who is responsible for creating them and giving respectability to these vituperative bots. Question - Can they take him on??" Congress leader Manish Tewari tweeted.
In another tweet, Tewari reminded Swaraj that in 2012 he as the then I&B minister in the UPA government had warned the now external affairs minister of the dangers of the "infrastructure of toxicity" the saffron party was creating.
The Congress leaders' attack on troll came a day after Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi was forced to approach the police and file a complaint after she received rape threat directed at her 10-year-old daughter by troll account on micro-blogging website.
In the tweet, which was deleted later, a user @GirishK1605 had said would rape Chaturvedi's minor daughter.
"Despite having a picture of Lord Ram as his profile picture, the accused did not hesitate from making such remarks," Chaturvedi tweeted.
The Grand Old Party also targeted
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has often been accused of following trolls and asked him to unfollow the trolls.
On Saturday, the party launched an "Unfollow Trolls Challenge" and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unfollow trolls on Twitter.
Radhika Khera, National Media Coordinator of Congress, nominated Modi and Union Minister Piyush Goyal for the challenge and called upon them to unfollow their abusive trolls.
"This Social Media Day lets all Social Media Users take a pledge to keep the virtual world clean and abuse free! Start by nominating two people to unfollow abusive trolls. I nominate Narendra Modi and Piyush Goyal to unfollow their abusive trolls," Khare said in her tweet.
In the music video, inspired from the song "Let it be" by the music band The Beatles, a group of women have sung their own version of the song.
The women in the video are seen urging Modi to "Be a real PM" and asked him to unfollow the trolls.
“As women of India are continued to be harassed and threatened online by those who are 'blessed to be followed by Modiji', we reiterate, PM Modi, unfollow them, please. Take responsibility,” Congress tweeted.
In the past, several troll accounts have been seen carrying the tagline 'blessed to be followed by Modiji' in their Twitter bios.
