Arun Yadav, an IT cell in charge of the Haryana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was removed from his post on July 7. The party has not provided any apparent reason. It is speculated that the party expelled Yadav because of a controversial tweet that he made against Islam in 2017. There was an online campaign on Twitter that demanded that Arun should be arrested for his controversial statements.
Some of Yadav's tweets, posted in 2017 and May 2022, went viral on social media, following which he was heavily criticized. Critics accused Yadav of insulting Prophet Mohammad and Islam and spreading hatred. Many demanded he should be arrested for his remarks, and last week, #ArrestArunYadav started trending on Twitter, gaining over a hundred thousand tweets.
In 2017, Yadav made a tweet that roughly translates to "I see the prophet in my liquor." Alcohol is forbidden in Islamic texts; thus, the tweet was deemed insulting the Prophet.
If Zubair can be arrested for a 4 year old tweet, why can't @beingarun28 too for his 5 year old tweet?#ArrestArunYadav @DelhiPolice @DCP_CCC_Delhi pic.twitter.com/OKWnG1600N
— Team Saath Official (@TeamSaath) July 7, 2022
BJP's state secretary Gulshan Bhatia issued an official statement stating that Yadav was removed from his post. However, he did not share any specific reason for his dismissal. According to media reports, the party leader has admitted that Yadav was expelled due to the campaign on social media against Yadav that had gained tremendous momentum and thousands of tweets.
Although Yadav was removed from his post, he is still a BJP party member. Yadav was also not arrested as no one had filed a police complaint against him.
Opposing parties had also noticed the slip. Youth Congress Chief tweeted, "The BJP has sacked yet another 'fringe element.' But instead of this eyewash, will these 'hate minions' be arrested?"
President of the Tipu Sultan Party, Shaikh Sadeque, tweeted, "Hello @DGPHaryana @DelhiPolice If Zubair can be arrested for his 2018 tweet, then why not Arun Yadav ?"
Hello @DGPHaryana @DelhiPolice
If Zubair can be arrested for his 2018 tweet, then why not Arun yadav ?#ArrestArunYadav pic.twitter.com/mVmxAutMic— Prof Shaikh Sadeque (@TSP_President) July 7, 2022
Many had compared this with the case against Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair who was arrested on June 27 for a tweet that he made in 2018. Zubair was arrested for allegedly hurting Hindu religious sentiments. Based on the complaint made by a Twitter user against a meme that Zubair had posted. The user had tagged Delhi police in a post in which they alleged that Zubair had insulted the Hindu God, Hanuman.
An FIR was registered against him under sections 153-A (Promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence.) and 295-A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Twitter user who complained against Mohammad Zubair has since deleted their account.
Recently, BJP had taken strict action against two prominent party members, Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal, due to "Insulting" remarks against Prophet Mohammad. The BJP had to take this step after immense international criticism, mainly from the Gulf countries. The BJP had suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma from the party, whereas Naveen Kumar Jindal, the media chief of BJP's Delhi unit, was expelled from the party.
