As Twitter removes its cartoon, BJP says it wasn't against any religion

A day after Twitter removed a caricature tweeted by the Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party unit on a court verdict sentencing 38 people to death in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts, the ruling party on Monday claimed the cartoon was based on real photographs and did not target any particular religion or community.

But, the opposition Congress and some social activists hailed Twitter's decision to remove the cartoon, and claimed the BJP was trying to gain political mileage out of the court's judgment.

The cartoon depicted a group of bearded men wearing skull caps hanging by a noose.

It had a tricolour and a drawing depicting the scene of a bomb blast in the background, with 'Satyamev Jayate' written on its top right corner.

It was posted on the Gujarat BJP's official Twitter handle on Saturday, a day after a special court here sentenced to death 38 convicts and handed life terms to 11 others in the case of 2008 serial bomb blasts in which 56 people had lost their lives and over 200 were injured.

The caricature is not available on either the Instagram or Facebook social media pages of the state BJP unit.

"The sketch was based on real photographs of the convicts published by newspapers a day after the verdict. The Gujarat BJP or its social media team had no intention to target any particular religion or community through the sketch," state party unit spokesperson Dr Rutvij Patel said.

He said when (terrorist) Osama Bin Laden was killed by American soldiers, his sketch was also published in the US.

"Our sketch was just an artistic expression shared on social media, nothing else," Patel said.

Gujarat BJP's media coordinator Yagnesh Dave on Sunday said Twitter removed the caricature after 'someone had reported against it'.

Meanwhile, state Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi welcomed Twitter's action.

"We firmly believe that terrorism has no religion. The Congress had lost two if its leaders - Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi - fighting terrorism. The verdicts of courts must not be seen through a political prism," he said.

"But, the BJP tried to take political advantage out of this (2008 Ahmedabad blasts case) judgment. This is BJP's old tactic to remain in power. Instead of indulging in such dramas, the BJP should focus on issues concerning the common man," the Congress leader said.

Social activist Mujahid Nafees, who also runs an NGO for the minority community's welfare, claimed the BJP always targets the country's minorities, mainly Muslims and Christians, for political gains.

"The BJP had published the cartoon with the sole purpose of reigniting polarisation in Uttar Pradesh, where elections are underway. This is an attempt to communalise the issue of terrorism. The BJP believes in divide and rule," he alleged.