
The Congress party on Friday (September 14) raised concerns over an "unacceptable comment" aimed at Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The comment, came from the official X account of the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate, who calledRahul Gandhi 'Pappu'. The congress party immediately after seeing the post demanded action against the officer.
Later, District Magistrate Manish Verma issued a statement on X, claiming that his account had been misused by anti-social elements who posted an inappropriate comment. "Taking this seriously, legal action is being taken by registering an FIR immediately and the wrong tweet/comment is being investigated by the cyber cell," the statement read.
Congress general secretary for communications, Jairam Ramesh, had criticised the post from the Uttar Pradesh district magistrate's account. He described the comment as "inappropriate and unacceptable comment."
Ramesh said, "This is not a new development; over the last 10 years, India's bureaucracy and other non-political officials have become increasingly politicised."
"There is a lot of effort being made to suppress and render useless the civil service, which Sardar Patel once called the steel frame of India. Cases like this are the latest example of that effort," he added.
He called for swift action against the official, accusing him of violating established norms and conduct.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also reacted by sharing a video on X, where a historian said,"History is made and cannot be changed. Narendra Modi knows how history will remember him and that is why he is worried."
A now-deleted post from the official account of the district magistrate responded in Hindi, stating, "You should think about yourself and your Pappu." Shrinate later posted a screenshot of this deleted comment, criticising the language and tone used by an officer responsible for the district.
"He is DM Noida, he is responsible for the entire district. His language and thoughts about the country's opposition leader Rahul Gandhi must be seen," Shrinate said. "It is clear that the administrative staff is full of Sanghis -- and now they are fanning hatred by sitting on constitutional posts," Shrinate added.
Pawan Khera, head of Congress' media and publicity department, said, "Have IAS officers now been ordered to make such political comments under BJP rule? @myogiadityanath @HMOIndia."
(With inputs from agencies)