Mahua Moitra Faces Backlash After Accidentally Agreeing with Racist Anti-Diwali Comment

Mahua Moitra responded "I agree" to an inflammatory social media post, triggering widespread backlash.

New Delhi:

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has become embroiled in a significant controversy after seemingly endorsing a social media post containing racist and derogatory language against Indians celebrating Diwali abroad. The post, which characterized Indians as "braindead" and described Diwali celebrations as "retarded garbage," sparked immediate outrage online and drew strong condemnation from the BJP.

The controversy began when Moitra replied "I agree" to an inflammatory post on X (formerly Twitter) from an unidentified user named "Nate." The offensive post stated: "Just like that, we've let braindead fu***ng Indians turn our beautiful Western countries into total shi*holes with their retarded Diwali garbage that has zero to do with us."

Screenshots of Moitra's apparent endorsement rapidly spread across social media platforms, leading to accusations that she held "anti-India" and "anti-Hindu" sentiments.

The BJP's West Bengal unit issued a strongly worded statement criticizing Moitra, claiming she has "repeatedly insulted Indian culture and Hindus."

"This is the same Mahua Moitra who believes Bangladesh is better than India and has compromised national security in exchange for luxury handbags," the BJP's state unit declared in their statement.

The BJP further connected this incident to Moitra's previous controversial remarks: "MPs from the Trinamool party consider Kashmir, an inseparable part of India, as 'Azad Kashmir,' find 'tourists' in terrorists, and under their rule in West Bengal, unspeakable atrocities are committed against women and children who dare to burst firecrackers during Diwali. In several places, Kali temples have been attacked simply because Hindus were performing Kali Puja. This is the same Mahua Moitra who once described Goddess Kali as a 'goddess of meat and liquor."

Facing mounting criticism, Moitra later posted a clarification on X, claiming her endorsement was a "genuine mistake."

"Just clarifying my Twitter feed was showing a lot of videos and I meant to say 'I agree' to a video just below the racist one by some Nate. My mistake. Travelling & didn't check till now. Sorry trolls," she wrote.

Her explanation failed to quell the backlash. While some users accepted her clarification, others accused her of making excuses.

One user sarcastically commented, "Should've gone with 'someone hacked my account' or 'intern had control and posted that tweet.' Would've sold much better as a justification, just saying."

Others defended Moitra: "Totally understandable - social media feeds move fast, and it's easy to click the wrong post while scrolling. Appreciate your honesty in clarifying it publicly. Real ones always own up instead of hiding. Stay strong, and don't let the trolls get to you," another user wrote.

The Trinamool Congress has not released any official statement regarding this controversy.