Curious case of Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter absence: Unlocked but unavailable | India News

NEW DELHI: Even though Twitter unlocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s handle on Saturday, his absence from the micro-blogging site on the 75th Independence Day has puzzled his supporters and partymen.
On Sunday morning, Rahul Gandhi posted a message to wish 74 years of Indian independence. However, it was not on Twitter but on Instagram.
He wrote four famous lines of the poem written by Pakistan’s national poet Allama Iqbal: “Saare jahan se achha, Hindustan hamara… #IndependenceDay.”
His sister and Congress general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra posted her message on Twitter. Her tweet in Hindi said: “Greetings on Independence Day. On the occasion of 75th #IndependenceDay, Uttar Pradesh Congress will felicitate the freedom fighters, their families and farmers in each and every village of the state under the ‘Jai Bharat Jansampark Abhiyan’ (public contact campaign). It will also thank all residents of the state for contributing towards strengthening India. #JaiHind.”

The Congress party’s first tweet after getting unlocked on Saturday was “Satyameva Jayate” (victory of truth).

Congress started posting several tweets on the 75th Independence Day from midnight, starting from the famous speech of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the first Independence Day: “At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom…”

Several others in the Congress, including media department chief Randeep Singh Surjewala, whose handles had been locked, have also resumed tweeting. But Rahul Gandhi is yet to post his first tweet ever since Twitter unlocked him a day ago.
The last tweet on his timeline still is of August 6 on his support for the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws.

Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter handle was locked on August 7 for revealing the identity of the nine-year-old Delhi girl allegedly gang-raped and killed. He had posted some photographs of the victim’s family after visiting them on August 4.
Congress leaders and office-bearers are puzzled over Rahul Gandhi avoiding Twitter for the past two days even though his handle has been unlocked.
Asked about the reason for not posting on Twitter, one of them said, “I don’t know.”
Asked whether the former Congress president had decided to boycott Twitter, a senior functionary said, “I think so. But it’s his choice.”
Another senior office-bearer said Rahul Gandhi was “highly disturbed” over the locking of his Twitter handle. “As he said in his video message on YouTube, he believes Twitter’s action is an interference by a foreign company in Indian politics even though it was supposed to have taken a neutral stand.”
The sources said Rahul skipping Twitter was “deliberate”. “Whether the boycott continues for a long time or whether he joins again soon is in the realm of speculation. No internal dialogue has taken place yet on the matter. We will have to wait and watch how the situation evolves in the time to come,” they added.