Just days after embarrassing India on the world-map with blatant disregard for rules at the Rio Olympics allegedly by his entourage, Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel seems to have put his ‘tweet’-in-the-mouth again.
On Sunday night, Goel tweeted his best wishes to Dipa just before the finals of the artistic gymnastic women’s vault at the 2016 Rio Olympics, only to get her surname wrong.
Not only had he spelt it as ‘Karmanakar’ but had his own picture plastered alongside, instead of that of the gymnast herself who did the nation proud with her fourth place finish in the event, competing against seven of the best in the world.
Coming in the aftermath of the letter sent by Sara Peterson -Continental Manager of the 2016 Olympics Organizing Committee- to the Indian Chef-de-Mission Rakesh Gupta, wherein the Minister was reportedly accused of entering accredited areas along with unaccredited individuals, the Indian social media was in no mood to forgive Goel for his latest online indiscretion.
Dear @VijayGoelBJP: If you can't spell it, don't tweet it. pic.twitter.com/TqjIN17UtA
— Sadanand Dhume (@dhume) August 14, 2016
Dear @VijayGoelBJP: If you can't spell it, don't tweet it. pic.twitter.com/TqjIN17UtA
— Sadanand Dhume (@dhume) August 14, 2016
Though the ‘offending’ tweet was later removed from his official Twitter account, the damage had already been done. The minister’s obsession over selfies with athletes too did not go unnoticed by Twiterrati who were unanimous in hauling him up for his social misdemeanours both online and offline.
Goel however insists that things were being blown out of proportion by the media and it was not him but a couple of his associates who may have been ticked off by the authorities concerned, and went on to reiterate his commitment to the Olympian spirit of the Rio Games.
Going by his recent string of faux-pas, and that too for the entire world to see, just exactly how the respected minister intends to prove his unswerving commitment to Indian sports in the global arena, continues to baffle the rest of India.