A tweet by the Tamil Nadu BJP’s official Twitter handle offering to send ‘razors’ to a bearded Omar Abdullah, the detained former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, drew widespread criticism on Tuesday. Following a backlash on social media, the party deleted the tweet.
A photograph in which the National Conference leader, who usually has a clean shaven look, was sporting an unkempt beard, had led to leaders such as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee and DMK leader M. K. Stalin expressing shock recently. Mr Abdullah has been in detention since before Article 370 was abrogated.
Against this backdrop, the State BJP tweeted, “Dear OmarAbdullah, it’s very disheartening to see you like this while most of your corrupt friends are enjoying life outside. Kindly accept our sincere contribution, in case of any assistance, feel free to contact ur counterpart @incindia for further help in this regard”. An image of a consignment of razors booked on an online shopping portal and addressed to Mr. Abdullah was also attached.
However, the party had to quickly backtrack and delete the tweet following strong criticism over the insensitivity of the tweet.
