Kolkata: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra took to X on October 24, to clarify that her recent comment on a racist post criticising Diwali celebrations abroad was "made in error", after receiving social media backlash and criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Here's what happened
The controversy began when Moitra wrote "I agree" under a post on X by a user named Nate, who berated Indians living abroad for celebrating Diwali. The post described Indians as “braindead” and called Diwali “retarded garbage”, comparing Indian communities abroad to a “sh**hole”.
The video accompanying the post showed people shouting from cars on streets covered in firecracker residue as police officers managed the crowd.
Responding to criticism, Moitra said the comment was a mistake. “Just clarifying my Twitter feed was showing a lot of videos and I meant to say ‘I agree’ to a video just below the racist one by some Nate. My mistake. Travelling & didn’t check till now. Thanks @RShivshankar for calling me out but was a genuine mistake. Sorry trolls,” she wrote on X, referring to journalist Rahul Shivshankar, who had pointed at her comment. Shivshankar later reposted her clarification.
BJP Targets Moitra and TMC
The Bengal BJP launched a sharp attack on Moitra after the incident, calling her response insincere and citing her previous remarks on Hinduism and Goddess Kali. In a post on X, the party described Moitra as “a foreign hate-monger sympathiser” and accused her of agreeing with derogatory comments made against Indians and Hindu festivals.
The BJP also criticised the Trinamool Congress for its past positions on Kashmir and alleged deterioration of law and order in West Bengal. “Under their rule in West Bengal, unspeakable atrocities are committed against women and children if they dare to burst firecrackers during Diwali. In several places, Kali temples have been attacked, simply because Hindus were performing Kali Puja,” the post read.
The party further recalled Moitra’s earlier remark describing Goddess Kali as a “goddess of meat and liquor,” renewing its charge that the Trinamool MP routinely insults Hindu beliefs.
