Twitter removes tweet from former CBI chief Nageswara Rao celebrating Agnivesh’s death

Twitter on Saturday deleted a tweet from M Nageswara Rao, former director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, celebrating the death of social reformer Agnivesh, The news minute reported.

“You were an anti-Hindu wearing saffron clothes,” Rao had tweeted. “You did enormous damage to Hinduism. I am ashamed that you were born a Telugu Brahmin. “Rao called Agnivesh a” lion in sheep’s clothing. “” My grievance against Yamaraj [the god of death] That is why you waited so long! “Rao said.

Agnivesh died at a hospital in Delhi on Friday due to liver disease. He was 80 years old.

The Indian Police Foundation, a think tank working on police reform, condemned Rao’s comments. “By tweeting hate messages of this kind from a retired officer posing as an IPS officer, he has desecrated the police uniform he was wearing and shamed the government,” the foundation tweeted. “It demoralizes the entire police force in the country, especially young officers.”

Twitter deleted Rao’s tweet after a backlash against the officer on the social media website. However, the former CBI chief refused to back down, likening Agnivesh to “savages” and a “pest destroying society.”

He also tried to take refuge claiming that his freedom of expression and his right to dissent had been violated, quoting Voltaire:

Agnivesh, a former member of the Haryana justice, founded a political party, Arya Sabha, which followed the principles of Arya Samaj. He was known for his efforts against bonded labor through his Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Front for the Liberation of Bonded Labor) foundation.

Agnivesh was elected to the Haryana Assembly in 1977 and appointed Minister of Education in 1979. However, he resigned his post in protest at the state government’s inaction against police personnel who had opened fire on workers demonstrating against forced labor.

He had also spoken out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2019 for his remarks against the Kerala government about the Sabarimala row of temples. The activist had described Modi’s comments as at odds with the constitutional position he occupies.

In July 2018, Agnivesh was allegedly beaten by workers from Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in Jharkhand. In 2011, religious leader Nityanand Das assaulted Agnivesh in a public meeting for his comments on the Amarnath Yatra. The activist had called the annual pilgrimage “pakhand” or hypocrisy, a statement for which he was later criticized by the Supreme Court.

Here are some other tweets criticizing Rao

Several politicians and members of civil society also criticized Rao for his tasteless tweet.

Congressional spokesman Pawan Khera called out Rao for the “stupid hatred” in his tweet. “Swami Agnivesh stood like a rock to prevent RSS from taking over and swallowing the AryaSamaj,” he tweeted. “As a Hindu, I admire the space my Dharma gave even to the followers of Charvaka. Hinduism is too vast, deep and safe to even reject the stupid hatred you see in their official tweets. “

Historian S Irfan Habib referred to Rao as a “disgrace”. “Can you imagine everything you must have done as a police officer?” he said. “Abusing the dead may be Hindutva, but it is certainly not Hinduism. Better late than never. Get them treated. “

Human rights activist Harsh Mander criticized Rao for “blatantly” displaying his intolerance. “It is very sad to read this tweet from a serving police officer, flaunting such discourtesy and community prejudice towards Swami Agnivesh, a man much taller and better than he will ever be, right after his death,” he said in a tweet. “The feeling that he can show his intolerance is so blatantly reflected in those who lead the nation.”

India’s police services officer RK Vij also criticized Rao’s tweet. “Insult to human life,” he said. “Sad.”

Laywer Navedeep Singh said Rao’s tweet ignored humanity. “This retired IPS official’s tweet goes against the principles of religion and basic humanity,” he said. “To think that he was serving in government and dealing with the public with those thoughts in the back of his mind just a few days ago.”