Mahua Moitra Faces Backlash: Trolled Nationwide For Mocking Diwali, Calling Indians ‘Brain Dead’, Internet Erupts In Anger

Mahua Moitra Faces Backlash: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra effectively drew enormous public and political wrath by tweeting in apparent endorsement of a vituperative social media post which maligns Indians celebrating Diwali abroad. 

The storm broke out when she endorsed a post on X, which carried some of the most racist terms and callous phrases against Indians: “brain-dead” and declared Diwali festivities to be “retarded garbage” not intended for the West. 

The sentence was the entry-point, which soon became widely visible among the crowd, sparking jingoistic outrage, with many users and political opponents accusing the popular politician of degrading Indian culture and Hindus. 

Political Firestorm Over Derogatory Endorsement 

As of now, the online favor has transformed quite easily into a political tussle. The BJP is particularly fast to attack the TMC chief, demanding an apology from her while accusing her of insulting Indian culture several times with deep-rooted prejudice. 

The latest incident adds to a long list of previous incidents involving Moitra, whose controversial statements have always been interpreted as poisonous and anti-establishment by her detractors. Thus, the fallout becomes politically very significant when opponents can somehow shoot specific questions at her with respect to her relationship with Indian traditions and public decorum. 

The controversy also personifies the increasing polarization of political discourses on social media, on which even an unverified and short comment can have quite severe public censure and accountability demands. 

Her earlier endowments with sharp, unreserved remarks put her once again at the heart of an intense political squabble, making her party very much responsible for managing the consequences of her controversial online activity.

Online Trolling and Demand for Accountability 

The reaction on social media has been overwhelmingly negative; “trolled” hardly conveys the sheer intensity of the public rage. Numerous users flooded the platform, calling her comments anti-national and anti-Hindu. Several expressed astonishments that a people’s representative would subscribe to a post that, in addition to belittling a great religious festival like Diwali, referred to Indian citizens as “brain dead.” 

Later however, Moitra made peace with the deletion of that “I Agree” post; the deed was done. Moitra stated that she, while travelling, had mistakenly pressed the like button for the offensive video when she had meant to endorse another post instead.

The row has triggered a wide-ranging discussion on the free speech contours for politicians and what they ought to do to hold themselves accountable when engaging with hate speech via social media. There are groups and individuals calling for formal action, including requests to her party to initiate disciplinary proceedings, thus turning this online spat into a serious demand for political accountability with regard to endorsing hate speech.

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