Hyderabad: Even as Facebook’s ban on BJP MLA Raja Singh has been welcomed as a step toward curbing hate online hate speech and spreading venom against communities, social media is anything but cleansed of hate. There are many who vilify communities, especially the Muslims, because they feel that since the BJP government reigns supreme, the minority community is a fair game.
According to Facebook watchers Raja Singh in fact is just tip of the iceberg, given the fact that bigger leaders from his party and affiliate organisations have been spreading hate through their social media posts as well as public speeches. From BJP’s IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya to the pro-BJP website OpIndia, we take a look at some of them.
Tejasvi Surya
In 2015, Tejaswi Surya, who would go onto become the Bengaluru constituency’s Lok Sabha MP, tweeted the following.
Rather than twitter deleting it five years ago, the BJP government itself felt ashamed about them and had it removed from the microblogging site this year.
Sambit Patra
The national spokesperson’s Twitter profile is no exception, as it is full of anti-Muslim rhetoric, which he spews on various issues. The Muslim community has always been at the receiving end of his tirades, which also include various expletives against the Congress.
Gaurav Goel
The party’s Punjab spokesperson Gaurav Goel even disseminated some fake news about how Muslim immigrants in Sweden were subjecting Swedish women to physical abuse. Although the appended photos of wounded women were actually those of domestic abuse victims in England and America.
Shiladtiya Dev
Besides the removal of Singh’s post, Assam BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev’s Islamophobic posts were also taken down due to the implementation of its community standards. According to Sabrang, Facebook India did not even pay lip service to complaints by NGO Avaaz who pointed out to them how he deemed “Bangladeshi Muslims” rapists.
Amit Malviya
At the helm of this whole online ecosystem is Amit Malviya, who is in charge of BJP’s IT Cell.
During the Delhi Assembly elections, the Union Territory’s Chief Minister bore the brunt of communal slander through the tweet below.
When contacted, BJP chief spokesperson in Telangana, Krishna Saagar Rao, said “Raja Singh being removed from Facebook amounts to a figment of imagination as he has no official page with a blue tick mark or account.”
“The Goshamahal MLA’s accounts that Facebook rendered redundant were those of his followers. Raja Singh’s Twitter account is still active,” he added.