Hindutva Twitter handle Bharadwaj Speaks has asked for clemency from the Maharashtra’s government headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde hours after Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis vowed to punish him persons behind those Twitter handles, who had defamed renowned reformist Savitribai Phule. Within hours of Fadnavis’ statement in the Maharashtra Assembly, Bhaaradwaj Speaks issued a long statement on Twitter asking for clemency.
Speaking in the assembly, Fadnavis had said that the people behind these Twitter handles and a couple of websites, Indic Tales and Hindu Post, will not be spared for insulting Phule.
“Information has been sought from Twitter to take action against the accused who wrote offensively about Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule. Letters have been written three times so far,” Fadnavis had said.
The Mumbai Police have registered a case against Bharadwaj Speaks and the two websites that reproduced his content from Twitter.
Bharadwaj Speaks had posted a long thread on Twitter implying that Phule was an agent of the British government as he also went on to claim that the British establishment those days used young girls to work as their sex slaves.
This caused an uproar in the Maharashtra politics as the opposition parties demanded strict action against the culprits. Realising that this could hurt the BJP and its alliance partners electorally in Maharashtra, Fadnavis was forced to issue a hard-hitting statement against Bharadwaj Speaks, Indic Tales and Hindu Post even though they have been known sympathisers of the BJP and its divisive politics.
It remains to be seen if the Maharashtra government will not go slow on them after Bharadwaj Speaks’ request for clemency.