Kiran Bedi, who has been removed as Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry as per a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement released late Tuesday night, has been no stranger to controversies.
In her tenure as the lieutenant-governor of the Union Territory, Bedi has come under the scanner multiple times for her controversial tweets. Here's a quick look at some of those tweets which generated controversies during her tenure as the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry.
1. Sun chants Om
In January, 2020, Bedi was trolled over a video she shared on Twitter. The video claimed that American space agency NASA's recording shows that the "Sun Chants Om".
— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) January 4, 2020
2. COVID-19 was due to the 'karma' of meat-eaters
In another Twitter post that she later claimed to have shared only because it was “ in WhatsApp all over”, the first woman IPS officer of the country implied the COVID-19 outbreak happened because of the ‘karma’ accrued by people eating meat.
The post was trolled on social media sites, with several users slamming it as in ‘poor taste’. Bedi shared an image of human beings put inside a cage, surrounded from the outside by animals. The picture had the title: “It's not Corona, its Karma.”
Taking responsibility for who we consume?
It’s also about excercise of harmless choices.
Also about practicing non violence?
In word, deed and eat? @ANI @PTI_News @airnewsalerts pic.twitter.com/bGSji93qpi— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) March 19, 2020
3. Eggs thrown due to corona hatch after a week
In another tweet in April, 2020, Bedi inspired several jokes online after she tweeted that the eggs which were thrown as waste because of corona have now hatched. She has since deleted the tweet.
"Eggs which were thrown as waste because of corona, after one week hatched. The creation of nature. (Fwded) Life has its own mysterious ways." the tweet had read, according to a report in Free Press Journal.
4. Chennai water crisis
In July 2019, a tweet by the retired IPS officer blamed the Tamil Nadu state government, corrupt politics, and bureaucracy for the water crisis in Chennai, evoking strong reactions from both the ruling AIADMK and Opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu.
The tweet which has since been deleted said, “A Question with Possible Answers: India’s 6th largest city #Chennai has become d first city in d country to run dry. The same city was in floods due to copious rains just four years ago. Where lies the problem? Ans: Poor Governance, Corrupt Politics, Indifferent Bureaucracy (sic)”.
5. The crow-yoga controversy
In February, 2019, amidst a then ongoing spat with Puducherry chief minister V Narayanaswamy, Bedi sparked outrage across social media with accusations of racism and discrimination being hurled at her.
She had tweeted a picture showing two crows sitting on a branch of a tree, with one crow extending its wing. “Yoga is Universal…,” read the tweet.
Yoga is Universal... pic.twitter.com/5f1T6BWTsH
— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) February 18, 2019
An hour later, she took to her personal account for another post with the same picture which read, “A member of the media asked me an interesting question. Is Dharna also Yoga?”
“I said, 'Yes it is. It depends on the purpose for which u sit...what kind of ‘Asanas’ you perform and the ‘sound’ u create? (sic)',” she posted.
The comments triggered an immediate response on Twitter with many people finding it racist, mocking the skin tone of the chief minister, who along with his colleagues had staged a sit-in in front of her office. Twitter users condemned the comment and urged Bedi to apologise.
6. Row over Puducherry's colonial history
In July 2018, she was bombarded with criticism on social media over her tweets congratulating France for its FIFA World Cup victory. "We won," she tweeted in her first reaction, in a reference to Puducherry's past as a French colony.
As the message gathered more criticism, Bedi followed up with a tweet underlining that Puducherry is an "erstwhile French Territory".
We the Puducherrians (erstwhile French Territory) won the World Cup.
Congratulations Friends.
What a mixed team-all French.
Sports unites.— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) July 15, 2018
7. A case of mistaken identity
In 2017, on Diwali day, Bedi came across a video of an old woman dancing and she shared it as that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother.
“Spirit of Diwali at tender age of 97. She is mother of @narendramodi (Heeraben Modi – 1920) celebrating Diwali at her home. @sadhguruJV (sic),” she had then tweeted.
The video turned out that of another old lady dancing enthusiastically to a popular Garba song. It posted on 30 September 2017, right after the nine-day Garba celebration in Gujarat.
Spirit of Deepavali at tender age of 97. She's mother of @narendramodi (Hiraben Modi -1920) celebrating Diwali at her own home👇🏼@SadhguruJVpic.twitter.com/HBXAzNXomC
— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) October 20, 2017
With inputs from agencies
source https://www.firstpost.com/india/kiran-bedi-removed-as-l-g-of-puducherry-a-look-at-some-of-the-controversial-tweets-of-retired-ips-officer-9311841.html
