Online trolling has been a bitter reality for a long time. One such incident came forth when BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje was trolled after she fumbled while giving a byte to a news channel in English.
While critiquing the BJP MP, trollers forgot that English is a language, a means of communication, and not a measure of intelligence or character. English shouldn’t be used as a measure of our identities.
The video that has gone viral on social media, Shobha Karandlaje can be heard fumbling: "I told truth, I tweeted truth, I am telling truth. They are not doing that... They are ... They are targetting me and I am telling the truth." While some trolled the BJP MP, some defended her.
One user said, "I’ve spoken to @ShobhaBJP many times, she is extremely articulate in Kannada, her mother tongue, demonstrably not in English so no need to language shame her. Substantive differences should be raised, but conflating English with competence is just elitist shit."
News agency ANI Editor Smita Prakash also defended the Karandlaje. Besides Kannada, Shobha ji gives bites in Hindi too in Parliament. Being a South Indian, not brought up in Delhi, she is articulate in Hindi and English. We all fumble at times trying to find the right word when in front of the camera," Smita Prakash tweeted.
Another Twitter user said, "Shobha Karandlaje knows Kannada and Tulu languages proficiently. Those two are the languages spoken widely in the Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency from which she is being elected."
Many netizens defended Shobha Karandlaje. Here's what they had to say:
On Friday, residents in the vicinity of the Chamundeshwari temple accused the administration of VVIP racism for allowing BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje to make a special visit.
Even though the district collector had ordered the closure of temple visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an exception was made for VVIPs. The BJP leader claimed that she visited the temple on Thursday evening, but the temple officials confirmed that she visited the temple on Friday at 7 am. It is said Karandlaje visits the temple every year on the last Friday of Ashada Masa. Locals, who tried get darshan of Chamundi Devi, were barred by the police leading to an altercation between locals and cops at the entrance of the temple.
