Akhilesh questions CM’s silence over ‘BJP’s offensive trolling’ on daughter

Lucknow: While some highly offensive trolls targeting Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s daughter saw widespread condemnation from twitterati, the former UP CM took serious exception to the silence maintained by the chief minister over the social media posts by the “BJP people”.

The trolling triggered widespread resentment among SP cadre after which party functionaries started filing petitions with the cyber cell of the police departments in Lucknow, Prayagraj and Ballia on Thursday seeking stringent action against those behind the trolling. Furious party functionaries announced ‘rewards’ for anyone providing clue regarding the identity of the people behind the act.

“Just because people in BJP don’t have families, they will talk about family members of others like this? Will they talk about my family? Will they talk about my daughter? From where have the people (behind the trolling) got the backing to do such a thing? The BJP has given that support. It is the BJP which gets such people talking,” Akhilesh said, responding to a media query over the storm on social media on the issue.

“Only because the chief minister ji does not have a family, will he remain silent if family of others are targeted? Is he enjoying this? Is the language that the BJP people are using appropriate? Should they use such a language,” a visibly agitated Akhilesh asked.

Users on digital platforms have come down heavily on the trolls with most of the users condemning on the manner in which a young girl is being dragged into a malicious smear campaign. A user described the trend of trolling family members of opposition leaders as the “ugliest face of politics”. Another user described the trolls as ‘filth’ thrown on a young girl merely because she happens to be the daughter of an opposition leader.

The trolling has exposed a deeper rot where a well equipped “political ecosystem” insulates “vicious cyber mobs ensuring complete legal immunity”, said another social media user. There were innumerable users, including SP supporters, who went on to question the state govt’s much hyped commitment to safeguard the dignity of women in the state.

Within the SP, the trolling is being seen as a counter from the BJP to deviate SP’s focus from allegations of irregularities that the party leadership has been talking about regarding misappropriation of donation received at Ram temple in Ayodhya. Of late, Akhilesh has been vocal and focused on these irregularities describing them as a development that has hurt the sentiments of Sanatanis across the world.