The exchange, conducted intermittently over two hours, attracted much online attention and elicited a variety of reactions.
NEW DELHI: In a first of its kind, a tweet asking for help over the Kishtwar communal clashes sparked off a sharp public exchange on Twitter between two political leaders - LokSabhaleader of the Opposition SushmaSwaraj and J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah - on Friday afternoon.
The exchange, conducted intermittently over two hours, attracted much online attention and elicited a variety of reactions. Some thought that the online conversation flouted norms of propriety of administrative and political communication. Others thought it brought transparency to processes that follow such incidents.
It all started at 1.58 pm when a Twitter user with the handle @a-Ashish 14 tweeted to the BJP leader alleging atrocities during the clashes in the eastern side of Kashmir. The BJP leader asked Abdullah to take immediate action and the minister while apprising her of the situation also asked her to get in touch with the Northern Army Commander in Kishtwar to get a "realistic assessment". Swaraj later tweeted that the J&K chief minister had telephoned her to tell her about the action taken.
Sushma has about six lakh followers while over 3 lakh follow Omar.
Nitin Pai, director of think-tank Takshashila Institution, sees the exchange as a positive development. Pai told The Times of India, "Usually, there is a lot of misinformation during communal flare-ups, and it is followed by a political blame game. The good thing here is that because the correspondence happened in a public forum, the scope for blame game reduces. The public is better informed in a situation where lack of information is a problem. And then, they had a personal conversation, possibly about things they couldn't discuss on an open platform."
However, there were others like Twitter user @Krupakar_m who felt that it would have been better to have this conversation offline. "With due respect, some communication should be formal and not through social media," he tweeted at the two leaders. Another user @satyakidasgupta echoed the sentiment. "Sushma shouldn't have responded to Ashish on twitter. This could spread communal tension," he tweeted. A few others tweeted saying that the two could have used the Twitter "direct messages" to communicate without making their conversation public.
Sociologist Dipankar Gupta sees an unintended consequence of conversations like these between political figures. "It creates a pressure on their parties to be more transparent and upstage the opponent in the same. In the process the medium gets legitimized. One person may win this round, but when more skirmishes like this follow, they won't be able to backtrack," says Gupta.
Blow by blow account
Twitter user with the handle @A_Ashish14 tweeted to the BJP leader alleging atrocities during clashes in the eastern side of Kashmir. The following exchange ensued:
@SushmaSwarajbjp (03:16 pm): @abdullah_omar This requires immediate attention. @A_Ashish14
@SushmaSwarajbjp (03:35 pm): I have checked up from Kishtwar. Many injured. Houses and shops burnt. Pl do something immediately. @abdullah_omar
@abdullah_omar (03:38 pm): @SushmaSwarajbjp injuries & damage has taken place on both sides. Situation is being rapidly brought under control. Adequate forces sent.
@SushmaSwarajbjp (03:45 pm): @abdullah_omar I am not referring to any side. Every person injured there is a Hindustani.
@abdullah_omar (03:46): @SushmaSwarajbjp exactly my point. But the lies on ...Kishtwar are designed to inflame passions & polarise people.
@SushmaSwarajbjp (03:52 pm): @abdullah_omar Pl rush enough forces and save people.
@abdullah_omar (03:52 pm): @SushmaSwarajbjp ma'am for a realistic assessment I request you speak to Northern Army Commander or the DGP (who is in Kishtwar).
@SushmaSwarajbjp (04:04 pm): @abdullah_omar No. I will not bypass the Chief Minister of J&K. Law and Order is the state subject
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