Congress-BJP Engage in Twitter War On Alleged Mallya-Jaitley Meet
The Twitter war created two of the most trending hashtags – #RahulMallyaLootedIndia and #JabJaitleyMetMallya.
Vijay Mallya’s mic-drop moment of announcing his alleged meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before he fled the country, has given the Congress all the ammunition it needs to attack the BJP over providing assistance to the fugitive liquor baron.
The BJP also shot back at the Congress, accusing the party of “favouring” Mallya before he left the country.
Since Mallya’s court hearing on Wednesday, the hashtags #RahulMallyaLootedIndia, #JabJaitleyMetMallya and #ArunJaitleyStepDown have been trending on Twitter as both parties continue to trade barbs over Mallya’s statement.
Congress: ‘Jait, Set & Go’
Speaking about Mallya’s “great escape”, Congress President Rahul Gandhi in his latest tweet said that the CBI, on the directive of the prime minister, had assisted him in fleeing the country.
Gandhi had earlier demanded an independent probe ordered by the prime minister, and said Jaitley should step down as finance minister – setting up the premise for the hashtag #ArunJaitleyStepDown.
Taking a cue from their leader, a number of Congress ministers began trolling the BJP, and Jaitley in particular.
Taking a direct dig at the BJP for its handling of economic offenders like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Lalit Modi and others, some Congress ministers even called the party a “tours and travels” brand for criminals.
The party also referred to the recent controversy faced by the BJP for putting up an “incorrect” graph depicting the rising petrol prices in the country.
‘A List of Jaitley’s Lies’ Courtesy Congress
The Congress also took it upon themselves to make a list of all the “false promises” that Jaitley had reportedly made to the public and not followed through.
BJP Slams Back at the Trolls
Hitting back at the Congress’ allegations (and also at the many trolls), the BJP instead turned the story around to suggest that the former had not only granted loans worth Rs 750 and Rs 950 crore to the liquor baron, but also sat back and watched several of its party members go on “foreign tours sponsored by Mallya”.
Not one to back down, the party ensured that the hashtag #RahulMallyaLootedIndia kept trending.
Meanwhile, BJP Minister in Karnataka, S Suresh Kumar, took the battle to a spiritual level with his tweet.
Congress Isn’t New to Money-Laundering and Scams: BJP
BJP attacked the Congress by mentioning several public scandals involving Congress leaders.
The party ministers also kept reiterating the fact that Gandhi was on especially “good terms” with Mallya and that Mallya shared a favourable relationship with the Gandhi family.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)