Twitter handle apologises for defamatory post on Savitribai Phule

Mumbai: @BhardwajSpeaks, the Twitter handle that put up a defamatory post on the late social reformer Savitribai Phule a couple of months ago, has offered an unconditional apology and requested clemency from the government. An FIR was registered in June this year after the public outcry demanding strict action.

On Sunday, @BhardwajSpeaks put out a tweet saying that the thread for which an FIR was lodged on June 7 was misquoted, misrepresented and misread. “Everybody has judged my thread and my intentions based on its reproduction in two portals, IndicTales and HinduPost. I have not granted any permission to these portals for the reproduction. They have partially quoted my views, leaving out my caveats and thus misrepresenting my own stand on the issue,” the handle stated in a series of five long threads.

The handle has requested Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, prime minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and leaders from all other parties to “offer clemency and grant me back my life”. “My writings have been misunderstood and offended a lot of people from various communities though my thread was not about Phule but about British colonialism…To end these misunderstandings, I intend to state that I will close this account for good. I have an ailing mother who depends on me, and plans of violently parading me and beheading me have already broken her. Anything further will destroy two lives.”

The threads on the two portals had led to a public outcry and a petition to chief minister Eknath Shinde in May for action against the miscreants. Shinde had immediately given chief secretary Manoj Saunik instructions to look into the situation and file a report, adding that any insults to public figures like Savitribai Phule would not be condoned.

“Indic Tales has written many objectionable things about Kranti Jyoti Savitribai Phule in its published article, and many political organisations and social organisations have raised objections against it to the government,” said a statement from the chief minister’s office. “While writing about revered personalities of our society, (the writing) should be well researched, and the authors and publishers should ensure that it will not lead to disrespect of any of the respected personalities.”

On June 7, the Mumbai police had registered an FIR against IndicTales, HinduPost and @BharadwajSpeaks for publishing and ‘spreading false and malicious’ content against social reformer Savitribai Phule and thereby hurting sentiments and creating enmity between different communities.