In a tweet posted on 19 February, BJP MP from East Delhi Maheish Girri has praised the admins of the ‘Clean the Nation’ Facebook group which targets people it calls ‘anti-nationals’ posting on social media in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. In an investigative story, Scroll.in has reported that the FB group ‘Clean the Nation’ claimed to have successfully targeted more than 50 people, including an assistant professor in Guwahati and Kashmiri students in Rajasthan and Dehradun.
In his tweet, Girri has tagged admins of the ‘Clean the Nation’ Facebook group, and has said, “Don’t let the fire of patriotism die out.” Apart from being an MP, Maheish Girri is also the National Secretary of BJP. The people targeted through the Facebook group that Girri is praising, have been suspended by their employers and are facing rape and death threats. For an elected MP to endorse a group of citizens who publicly call for harmful consequences for others, on the basis of their stated opinion on social media, is worrisome.
After this story was published, BJP MP Maheish Girri responded on Twitter on 21 February 2019, by reiterating his stance.
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