Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan tweeted Friday morning about India’s 'potential to be the greatest country on Earth'. So far, so good. However, the trailing 'but...' at the end of the tweet prompted speculation over the message he may have been trying to convey. The tweet also invited a response from another ex-India cricketer, Amit Mishra, who filled in the blank with '... if some people realise our Constitution is the first book to be followed.'
Pathan tweeted: "My country, my beautiful country, has the potential to be the greatest country on earth. BUT……… (sic)."
To this, Mishra wrote, "My country, my beautiful country, has the potential to be the greatest country on earth…..only if some people realise that our constitution is the first book to be followed."
The context of both tweets is unclear. However, the exchange comes days after Delhi's Jahangirpuri witnessed violent clashes last Saturday between two communities as a Hanuman Jayanti procession was passing through.
There have also been violent clashes in other states - Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, to name three - over religous processions and celebrations like Ram Navami.
The inevitable storm that followed Pathan's tweet and Mishra's response saw some laud the latter for his 'comeback'. One Twitter user wrote, "The nation has to again come up to face new challenges on the front foot. Thanks Amit for calling spade a spade." Another tweeted, "Mishra ji, we need more people like you."
{{/usCountry}}The inevitable storm that followed Pathan's tweet and Mishra's response saw some laud the latter for his 'comeback'. One Twitter user wrote, "The nation has to again come up to face new challenges on the front foot. Thanks Amit for calling spade a spade." Another tweeted, "Mishra ji, we need more people like you."
{{/usCountry}}BJP leader Kapil Mishra also jumped in and wrote "proud of you Amit Mishra" and tweeted a screen grab of both the cricketers’ tweets.
The Delhi Police on Thursday said they had identified 27 more suspects involved in last week's clashes and were looking into the connections of 25 arrested so far.
Four teams have been formed to investigate the violence that left nearly a dozen, including at least eight policemen, injured and several vehicles torched.
Nearly 140 people were also arrested in three other states - Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka - in connection with incidents of clashes last Saturday.
The violence in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri erupted Saturday after a Hanuman Jayanti procession was allegedly confronted by a group of people in front of a mosque. Stones were reportedly thrown and gunshots were fired. Police said the procession did not have permission and its organisers have been booked.