Twitter on Saturday, 12 September, took down a tweet by M Nageswara Rao, the former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in which he termed the death of popular Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh 'good riddance'.
Former Haryana MLA and Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh, passed away at a New Delhi Hospital on Friday, 11 September at the age of 80.
“You were an anti-Hindu donning saffron clothes,” Rao had tweeted. “You did enormous damage to Hinduism. I am ashamed that you were born as a Telugu Brahmin.” Rao called Agnivesh a “lion in sheep’s clothing” and added: “My grievance against Yamaraj [the god of death] is why did he wait this long!”
Twitter said the tweet violated its rules against abuse and harassment and has temporarily limited some of the account features, according to The Indian Express.
The tweet had attracted harsh criticism from many quarters. The Indian Police Foundation, a think-tank working on police reform, condemned Rao’s remarks.
However, despite the backlash, Rao refused to bend, tweeting, "Why do we celebrate as festivals, the days savages were dead? Because they're pests destroying society and their death is a cause for celebration. It was also to warn people not to patronise the bad."
Swami Agnivesh was hospitalised at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences in New Delhi due to liver cirrhosis and was in a critical condition. He was on ventilation since Tuesday due to multiple organ failure.
Based on the principles of the Arya Samaj, Agnivesh founded a political party called Arya Sabha in 1970 and became a member of the Haryana legislative Assembly in 1977. He was a strong proponent of religious harmony and encouraged dialogue between religions
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