Inclined to agree with appeal from a retired colonel to boycott everything Kashmiri: Megahalaya Guv Tathagata Roy
Tathagata Roy's statement creates flutter.
Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy who is known for his blunt talk on Twitter created a stir on Tuesday by virtually supporting a call for a boycott of 'everything Kashmiri' in the wake of the Pulwama attack. This is what Tathagata Roy said on Twitter,
Quoting a retired colonel of the Indian Army, Tathagata Roy who was a senior BJP leader in the past wrote on Twitter, " An appeal from a retired colonel of the Indian Army: Don’t visit Kashmir,don’t go to Amarnath for the next 2 years. Don’t buy articles from Kashmir emporia or Kashmiri tradesman who come every winter. Boycott everything Kashmiri.I am inclined to agree".
Former J&k Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti condemned the tweet and asked for Tathagata Roy's sacking for allegedly violating the constitution.
The tweet got mixed reaction on social media with several people supporting but some prominent liberals like Ramachandra Guha also attacking him. However, not bothered with all criticism, Roy backed up his tweets with series of other tweets where he cited several historical instances to press home his point.
With a retweet, Roy even lamented about the 'biased' nature of Twitter as he is yet to get verified by the social media website.
Roy's tweets come at a time when there is a heated debated in the country regarding how the Pulwama attack needs to be avenged. Also, there are reports of Kashmiris getting harassed in some parts of the country in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.
His three tweets in this context are:
He then quote tweeted Major Gaurav Arya saying:
Tathagata Roy said that India doesn't need to go to the extent of what Pakistan army did, but advocated for some flexibility in operation.
As expected, Omar Abdullah gave strong reaction to Tathagata Roy's tweets.
He posted:
Facing some sort of outrage on Twitter, Tathagata Roy posted
He raised the issue of Kashmiri Pandits being driven out of the valley in his tweet.
In a strongly worded tweet, former J&K CM Mehbooab Mufti said: