A full-blown three-day Twitter war broke out between the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the latter allegedly called the Sena scion Aaditya Thackeray, “Pappu of Mumbai” on twitter.
The BJP_IT_Cell_Maha handle tweeted: “Pappu of Mumbai” following Aaditya’s protest rally against the BJP-led education department in the state. The protest was on Saturday and the tweets surfaced on Sunday.
Some BJP leaders felt the tweet was in bad taste, following which it was taken down on Wednesday evening, but not before the The Asian Age managed to grab the tweet (see screengrab). The Pune-based twitter handle, which has the BJP flag on it claims that it is the official handle of the BJP. Although the tweet was pulled down that did not stop the social media from buzzing about the new Pappu in town.
Among the political circles, the word “Pappu” is normally attributed to a political novice who is unable to handle his/her political party and often makes gaffe with politically incorrect statements. On Wednesday morning, senior BJP had a closed-door meeting at the BJP headquarters in Nariman Point to discuss the “Pappu” issue. Sources said some senior BJP leaders who are associated with the party’s social media attended the meeting as well.
When contacted, BJP chief spokesperson (Mumbai) Niranjan Shetty distanced himself and the party from the Pappu tweet and said, “The BJP is a cultured party and will never make statements that are derogatory to any leader. We are in alliance with the Sena and do not endorse such statements.” However, Mr Shetty kept mum when asked as to how an unofficial twitter handle was still using the BJP flag in it.
Meanwhile, the Sena hasn’t taken the Pappu tweet lightly. Mr Ramesh Solanki, core committee member of Shiv Sena’s IT cell said that that there are few disgruntled BJP leaders who are against the Sena. “There are few leaders in BJP who are unhappy that they haven’t been accommodated in the government, despite the party being in power. These people do not want an alliance with the Sena. Hence, they are spreading such hatred,” Mr Solanki said.
The tweets were removed by Wednesday evening. Sources from the BJP told the Asian Age that the concerned leaders have been advised not to post such tweets in future.
