PUDUCHERRY: Amidst the ongoing face-off with chief minister V. Narayanasamy, Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi has come in for severe criticism from social media users, who complained on Monday, that they had found one of her posts on her Twitter account extremely racist.
The controversy started when Ms Bedi posted a picture of two crows sitting on a branch, with one crow extending its wing.
“Yoga is Universal…,” Ms Bedi wrote.
An hour later, she took to her personal account for another post with the same picture which read, “A member of the media asked me an interesting question. Is Dharna also Yoga? I said, “Yes it is. It depends on the purpose for which u sit...what kind of ‘Asanas’ you perform and the ‘sound’ u create? (sic),” she posted.
The comments triggered an immediate response on Twitter with many people finding it racist, mocking the skin tone of the chief minister.
Twitter users condemned the comment and urged Ms Bedi to apologise.
DMK leader and MP Kanimozhi also took to Twitter to condemn the comments. “@thekiranbedi must apologise for her arrogant, racist comment on @CMPuducherry. Her Klansman colours are coming out,” she posted on her handle.
Some Twitter users compared Ms Bedi’s comment to that of BJP MP Tarun Vijay on South Indians.
“Come on, she’s not racist at all. Tarun Vijay already told us that Indians can’t be racist because they live with black South Indians :P,” one of the comments read.
“As a former cop, she must know it’s racist and punishable under IPC 153A,” another Twitter user said. Ms Bedi denied the allegations and said that her words had been ‘misconstrued’.
Responding to a query by Deccan Chronicle over the controversy, Ms Bedi said, “No way. It’s been misconstrued. See my next tweet too of a white cat on the yoga mat. It was a message that yoga is universal.”
She said her words were being misread and the post had nothing to do with any person. “I saw this being done by a crow as well as the cat. Why misread it for the sake of anything you do? It has nothing to do with any person. I shoot (photograph) and share daily of birds in Raj Nivas. I am very fond of birds. See my several tweets on birds. All kinds. I just love them,” Ms Bedi said.
