Bengaluru: Former Congress social media head and MP Divya Spandana has fired a political salvo after Union ministers Jitendra Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted over Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling on the PM CARES Fund.
The top court had ruled that money from the new fund set up to combat the Covid-19 pandemic need not be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund, to which Singh, the Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, had said: “Hope that should send out a message…loud and clear.”
Spandana, also a former actor under the stage name Ramya, quote-tweeted Singh’s tweet, adding: “Clear as daylight- dal mein definitely kuch kaala hai (there is definitely something wrong).”
Clear as daylight- dal mein definitely kuch kaala hai. https://t.co/dassY9a1El
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) August 18, 2020
Later in the day, Spandana also responded to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who had slammed the critics of the PM CARES Fund, including former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Spandana pointed out that the Supreme Court didn’t say the government can’t transfer funds, it said it can if it wants to.
“You are choosing not to. If the Govt has nothing to hide, in the interest of transparency, why won’t you do it? It’s public contribution & we have the right to know,” she tweeted.
SC didn’t say you can’t transfer funds @rsprasad ji, SC said if the Govt wants to, it can. You are choosing not to. If the Govt has nothing to hide, in the interest of transparency, why won’t you do it?It’s public contribution & we have the right to know. #PMCaresFund pic.twitter.com/wi7rVt4g89
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) August 18, 2020
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Significance of the tweets
Divya Spandana’s tweets are being viewed as significant because she had been missing from social media for over a year, and was said to be on a sabbatical from politics. This is her first tweet since 1 June 2019, though she had deleted some posts before she deactivated her social media handles when she was removed as Congress’ social media head.
Spandana resurfaced on Facebook last month, posting some pictures after multiple requests from followers. Since then, she has posted about the Kerala plane crash, the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and greetings for Janmashtami and Independence Day, but nothing overtly political.
In one post, in fact, she wrote: “Don’t be a victim to politics. Don’t succumb to the identity crisis it creates for power and control. Question, look through it & rise above.”
Congress sources said her whereabouts are still unknown, though senior leaders in Karnataka said she continues to be a party worker even today. On her Instagram account, Spandana said she had turned “camera shy”.
“We don’t know when she will be back in active politics. We will have to wait for her to appear at the office. Hopefully soon,” said a Congress leader on the condition of anonymity.
The actor-turned-politician was credited with turning around the Congress’ social media presence through her hard-hitting tweets, especially those directed against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, she disappeared from the spotlight after the Congress announced that none of its leaders would participate in television debates after the 2019 Lok Sabha poll drubbing.
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