A couple of days after Rangoli Chandel’s Twitter account was suspended over a hateful and Islamophobic tweet, her sister Kangana came to her defense in a video she posted on Instagram. The actor called for the Indian government to shut down Twitter and said that India should make its own social media platform.
In the video, Kangana claims that many people including Sussanne Khan’s sister, jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali and filmmaker Reema Kagti, falsely accused Rangoli of calling for the genocide of Muslims. “My sister had tweeted specifically that those attacking doctors and police workers should be shot,” Kangana said in the video.
“If any tweet is found that asks for Muslim genocide, then Rangoli and I will come forward and apologise. Is she saying that every Muslim is a terrorist? We don’t believe that every Muslim attacks doctors and police workers,” Kangana said.
However, Rangoli’s tweet from Wednesday did indeed call for violence. It said, “A Jamaati died of Corona when police and doctor went to check their families, they were attacked and killed, secular media, make this mullas + secular media stand in line and shoot them dead [sic],” she tweeted.
She added that even if people called her and others like her 'Nazis', it was better than being 'fake'.
Rangoli was referring to an incident in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad where four people were injured after a mob tried to stop a medical team from taking a man with COVID-19 into isolation. Stones were also hurled at the medical team’s ambulance. However, contrary to Rangoli’s tweet, no death was reported in the incident.
Many people called attention to Rangoli’s provocative and communal tweet, tagging Twitter and Mumbai police. Her account was subsequently suspended.
Kangana claimed that platforms like Twitter, which earn crores of revenue from India, allow the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the RSS to be called ‘terrorists’, but don't allow 'terrorists' to be called 'terrorists'. She added that Twitter must therefore be shut down in India.
“We have to find a way to completely demolish these platforms and start our own platforms,” Kangana said.
She also referred to wrestler Babita Phogat, who expressed support for Rangoli on Twitter on Thursday, saying that Twitter seems to be against those who speak the truth.
आज रंगोली चंदेल दीदी ने किसकी पूँछ पर पैर रख दिया। आजकल ट्विटर भी सच्ची बात लिखने वालों से काफी खफा रहता है।#RangoliChandel
— Babita Phogat (@BabitaPhogat) April 16, 2020
“People are being harassed for raising their voice for nationalism – some are being fired from jobs, some are being murdered. If something happens to Babita, no one else will raise their voice for nationalism. I appeal to Centre to extend protection to them,” Kangana said.