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Kashmir man tied to jeep: Punjab CM jumps the gun on ‘clean chit’, finds support from BJP followers on Twitter
The Congress leader reacted too soon, sought an award for the Army officer
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has jumped the gun by welcoming the so-called “clean chit” given to an officer who tied a Kashmiri youth in front of a vehicle to avoid attack from stone-pelters.
“Good to hear of @adgpi Court of Inquiry clean chit to ‘human shield’ officer Major Nitin Gogoi, should be given distinguished service award,” tweeted Capt Amarinder, who is a military historian and a former officer of the Sikh regiment himself, on Monday night after media reports.
The Congress leader reacted too soon, seeking an award for the major. The army denied that the officer had been given a clean chit, saying that the court of inquiry (CoI) into the allegations was still on. “The CoI concerned with the incident wherein a civilian was tied to an army jeep is still incomplete,” the army’s Srinagar-based spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said, calling the media reports “speculative”.
But that hasn’t stopped tweeple from giving the thumbs up to Capt Amarinder showing his support for the major. His tweet was retweeted over 3,349 times and 5,261 making it perhaps one of his most popular posts on the social networking site in recent months.
Also, praise has poured in for the Punjab chief minister with most followers, including BJP supporters, lauding his response. Several of them took digs at the Congress while praising him.
Sample some of the reactions:
But not everyone was pleased. Some tweeple found Amarinder’s support for the major “unacceptable” and “disgusting”, with one of them even asking does the army need to hide behind civilians.
