India’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Gujarat unit’s tweet of a cartoon depicting a group of Muslim men being hanged was taken down by Twitter on Sunday for violating community guidelines.
The offensive caricature was uploaded on Friday in the wake of a court verdict that sentenced 38 people to death in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts case. The accused were alleged members of a group called ‘Indian Mujahideen’.
The background of the image showcased the tri-colored flag of India and an illustration of the Ahmedabad blast.
The BJP Gujarat unit tweeted the image with the caption: “Satyamev Jayate [Truth alone triumphs]. No mercy to the perpetrators of terror.”
While the tweet has been taken down from the micro-blogging site for violating the platform’s rules on hateful imagery, several posts featuring the cartoon could be seen on Facebook and Instagram on Monday, and have not been removed.
The image has been reported by several people on the social platform but Facebook stated that the caricature did not violate its community standards.
BJP inciting violence
Twitter users strongly reacted to the anti-Muslim image and called out the ruling BJP for inciting violence in exchange for votes in the upcoming elections.
Users also claimed that the nationalist party will be responsible for communal violence and hate-mongering, which will result in the genocide of minorities.
Another user wrote, “this is a shocking act” and urged the international community to condemn it.
You know exactly what you are doing here
— Ian Woolford 🏳️🌈 (@iawoolford) February 20, 2022
You are the official account of the BJP party in Gujarat, and you shared a pro-genocidal message to your 1.5 million followers
This is a shocking act. You have committed a dirty dirty action. It must be condemned around the world
