As the row over activist Disha Ravi's arrest and detention raged, Haryana Cabinet Minister Anil Vij triggered fresh controversy. The short post in Hindi had called for the extermination of complete destruction of those who harbour the "seed of anti-nationalism".
For those who have not been following the debate, Disha was arrested last week for her alleged role in formulating and propagating the 'protest toolkit' shared by Greta Thunberg amid the farmers' agitation. Non-bailable warrants have also been issued against a Mumbai lawyer and a Pune engineer for allegedly creating the toolkit and collaborating with pro-Khalistani elements.
"Whoever harbours the seed of anti-nationalism in their minds, that has to be completely destroyed, be it Disha Ravi or anyone else," reads the translation of Vij's remarks.
And even as a part of the social media platform echoed their vehement support for the sentiment, others came down sharply on the BJP leader. "Surely tweets like this are far more harmful to our democracy than anything in the 'toolkit' Disha Ravi retweeted?" wondered Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.
Others on the micro-blogging platform called for the post to be removed, urging Twitter to take action. And for some time, it appeared as though the platform was listening. The post was removed by Twitter, and a notice about the same, shared by the Minister explained that it had been withheld based on a complaint from a user in Germany.
"Twitter is required by German law to provide notice to users who are reported by people from Germany via the Network Enforcement Act reporting flow," reads an excerpt from the mail received by Vij.
Hours later, the post had been restored, with Twitter stating that it Vij's post had been investigated and found acceptable. "We have investigated the reported content and have found that it is not subject to removal under the Twitter rules," reads the new screenshot from Twitter shared by the politician.
Social media users however are not too happy with this turn of events. Even as many railed against Twitter for retracting their action, others took the offline route. News agency ANI reported on Monday that a complaint seeking registration of FIR against Anil Vij for "his hateful statement calling for the killing of Disha Ravi on Twitter" had been filed in Bengaluru.
The minister however appears to be wholly unconcerned about the debate. Indeed, the update about a possible FIR against him was shared by Vij on his Twitter profile.
