Twitter permanently suspended Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut’s account on May 4, 2021 following a tweet where she egged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show his “virat roop” (vast form) from the “early 2000s”, appearing to allude to the Gujarat pogrom where thousands of Muslims were butchered. Her comment was in reference to the violence in West Bengal following the declaration of Assembly election results.
Kangana tweeted, “This is horrible… we need super gundai to kill gundai… she is like an unleashed monster, to tame her Modi ji please show your Virat roop from early 2000’s … #PresidentRuleInBengal”
In 2002, Gujarat under the leadership of then Chief Minister Narendra Modi witnessed a pogrom in which thousands of Muslims were systematically killed particularly gruesome ways. There were also countless instances of gendered violence. Following the 2002 pogrom, the US and the UK had imposed an entry ban on Modi. The violence is still remembered as one of the most horrifying moments in the country’s history.
Needless to say, Ranaut’s insensitive remark sparked harsh criticism from netizens, and even from Twitter itself that shut down her account. Speaking to a news agency, a spokesperson said, “We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behaviour that has the potential to lead to offline harm. The referenced account has been permanently suspended for repeated violations of Twitter Rules specifically our Hateful Conduct policy and Abusive Behaviour policy. We enforce the Twitter Rules judiciously and impartially for everyone on our service.”
It may be mentioned that while the actress’s most vocal platform is gone, her Instagram account is still functional. Following the suspension, Ranaut voiced her complaint on Instagram stating that Twitter suspended her right after she posted a video demanding President’s rule in Bengal. The same video is posted on her Instagram account.
Earlier in January, the right-wing proponent’s account was restricted for some time after Ranaut, ranting against Tandav web series creators, allegedly tweeted it was “time to take their heads off” while replying to a right-wing handle. This is an open incitement of violence.
Thereafter, she lashed out at Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and called him the “chacha” (uncle) of liberals. At the time, the platform warned Ranaut that a further violation of Twitter rules would result in removal.
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