Congress calls for action against BJP IT cell, aides

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Congress, while stating that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) conspiracy behind the tweets by the celebrities has been exposed by the Maharashtra Police, has demanded action against the party associates involved in it.

Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant, while referring to the statement by state home minister Anil Deshmukh, said the party’s apprehension, about BJP hand behind celebrity tweets, has proven true. Celebrities including Lata Mangeshkar, Sachin Tendulkar Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar took to Twitter on February 3 after Rihanna and climate change activist Greta Thunberg expressed support for the farmers’ protest. The Indian celebrities tweeted using #Indiaagainstpropaganda and #Indiatogether, framed by the external affairs ministry.

“The preliminary inquiry by the police has established the involvement of BJP’S IT cell and 12 influencers. This is a conspiracy by BJP against the country. The police should now take strict and immediate action against them,” Sawant said.

He also questioned why the celebrities did not come forward

to clarify that their tweets were not under pressure from BJP and but they had tweeted out of their own will. “BJP resorted to false propaganda that the state government was probing Bharat Ratna recipients Mangeshkar and Tendulkar, though the inquiry initiated was into the pressure put on them to tweet. The tweets were sent out by Indian celebrities under pressure from BJP. None of the celebrities have come forward to say that there was no pressure on them to tweet,” he said.

Maharashtra BJP’S media cell head Vishwas Pathak said, “The statement by the home minister is a face-saving attempt after the state government realised that their earlier announcement of action against Tendulkar and

Mangeshkar had evoked a backlash. The tweets were by the celebrities. How can an action be initiated against our IT cell? What action and under which laws can be taken for tweets posted for the sovereignty of the country? We are ready to face any such action then.”