Karnataka BJP Turns Jamia Firing Into Meme, Forced to Take Down Tweet After Backlash

Bengaluru: The Karnataka BJP was forced to delete a controversial tweet on Friday when it turned the firing incident at Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia into a meme.

The tweet appeared to suggest that the gunman opened fire on anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters in the national capital as a reaction to anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam’s controversial speeches.

The tweet was put out at 1:17pm with ‘action’ written above Imam’s photo and ‘reaction’ written on the photograph of the shooter, reportedly a minor, who injured a Jamia student on Thursday. The tweet was deleted within minutes and another tweet posted with edited text. This time, Sharjeel's picture said ‘action by government’, while the shooter’s photo said ‘reaction by anti-nationals’.

The screenshot of the earlier tweet was widely shared on social media with several Twitter users dismissing it as tasteless and communal.

The Congress pointed out that this is the second tweet the BJP had to retract in recent days, with the first being an offer from Tamil Nadu BJP to send shaving razors to former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah who has been detained for months now.

“Two recent posts by BJP handles which they had to delete. ‘The nation wants to know’ why they put these up. Their supporters wish to know why they deleted them. Unless, of course, their social media handles are also operated, like guns at Jamia, by juveniles?!” Tharoor said.

The Karnataka Congress asked what action Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah would take against the party’s state unit.

The Karnataka BJP hit back, accusing the Congress of backing “anti-national” forces.