PM following someone not a character certificate: BJP on twitter trolls

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said in a clarification that the controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi following people on Twitter is mischievous and contorted.

"The controversy over the prime minister following people on social networking platform Twitter is mischievous and contorted. He follows normal people and frequently interacts with them on various issues. He is a rare leader who truly believes in freedom of speech and has never blocked or unfollowed anyone on Twitter," a statement by BJP's Information and Technology National Head Amit Malviya said.

The statement further read that the Prime Minister following someone is not a character certificate of that person and is not in any way a guarantee of how a person would conduct himself.

"PM following someone is not a character certificate of a person and is not in any way a guarantee of how a person would conduct himself," statement reads.

The statement from the saffron party came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew flak for following online trolls on Twitter, who expressed happiness over the killing of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh.

The statement also took a dig at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and read, "However, PM also follows Rahul Gandhi, who is also an accused in loot and fraud. PM also follows Arvind Kejriwal who abused him on Twitter and told a woman 'Settle Kar lo' when she complained of a party member molesting her. PM still follows Parthesh Patel, a former BJP volunteer who joined Congress and abused PM in the worst possible language. Thus, this debate is not only farcical and fake, but also an exhibit of selective right to freedom of expression."

Since Thursday, a segment of Twitterers were unhappy over the celebration tweets on Gauri Lankesh's death and the fact that Prime Minister did not unfollow them post those tweets. As a result, they launched a social media campaign with hashtag 'BlockNarendraModi' to block Prime Minister Modi that trended on twitter since Thursday.

Senior journalist Lankesh was shot dead on Tuesday at her residence in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Nagar by some unidentified assailants at around 8-8:30 pm.

As per the reports, three bullets were pumped in her body.

Her last rites were held at Bengaluru's Chamrajpet Cemetery on Wednesday.

Lankesh was the editor of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a tabloid described as an "anti-establishment" publication.

A SIT, comprising of 19 officers, headed by IGP Intelligence BK Singh, has been formed to probe Gauri Lankesh's murder.