Haryana: BJP Removes IT Cell Head After Backlash Online for Controversial Tweets on Islam

#ArrestArunYadav was among the top trends on Twitter on Thursday, with users sharing his old tweets and calling for his arrest.

New Delhi: The Haryana unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) removed its IT cell in-charge, Arun Yadav, with immediate effect late on Thursday night, July 7, following a massive campaign online which drew attention to his controversial tweets against Muslims and Islam. #ArrestArunYadav was among the top trends on Twitter on Thursday.

According to Indian Express, state BJP secretary Gulshan Bhatia late in the evening told that Yadav is being removed from the post with immediate effect without specifying any reason. State BJP president O. P. Dhankar too confirmed the same.

Many Twitter users questioned the “impunity” enjoyed by BJP leaders like Yadav at a time when a criminal and judicial process is set in motion against Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair for his alleged controversial tweets.

Although the said controversial tweets by Yadav are not recent, Twitter users pulled out and shared his old tweets between 2017 and May this year. Most of the tweets tagged Delhi and Haryana police handles. No police complaint has been filed against Yadav yet although there is a clamour for his arrest, according to NDTV.

Several Twitter users asked if the government is once again going down the path of lenience shown towards now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma whose controversial remarks against the Prophet resulted in massive public outrage in India and global condemnation.

According to Indian Express, a BJP leader from Haryana said that an intense campaign online against Yadav warranted his sacking from the party. “With over 85,000 tweets seeking his arrest, it has become a big issue,” the IE report quoted the leader as saying.

Yadav joined Twitter in August 2015 and has six lakh followers. With over 28,600 tweets, Yadav has been extensively sharing party and BJP government decisions and policies.