Columnist and author Shobhaa De was criticised on Tuesday for her tweet on Mumbai Cops
Highlights
- Shobhaa De had tweeted image of overweight cop mocking Mumbai Police
- "Expect better from responsible citizens," Mumbai Police tweeted
- The author tweeted an apology today
A day after Shobhaa De, columnist and author, came under heavy criticism for tweeting an image of an overweight man in uniform and mocked Mumbai police's "heavy" arrangements on the day of the BMC polls, she tweeted advice to the cop in picture, "consult a dietician".
On Tuesday, Ms De posted a picture of an overweight policeman sitting on a chair with the tag line 'Heavy police Bandobast in Mumbai today!' The 'Bandobast' was in reference to the BMC elections happening in Mumbai on Tuesday.
While Ms De was heavily trolled on Twitter for cracking jokes in bad taste and body shaming, Mumbai Police quickly responded with a tweet pointing out that the photograph was not of a Mumbai Police personnel, but someone from the Madhya Pradesh police, as was indicated by the shoulder badge. Even the Mumbai Police weighed in, saying they "expect better from responsible citizens" like her.
After being massively trolled on social media, Shobhaa De tweeted today:
Yet again the move didn't go down well with the Twitter users. Here are the responses to her tweet - some of the mildest we could find.
A few, though, came to her rescue, arguing that it was part of a policeman's job to keep himself fighting fit.
Mumbai voted on Tuesday to choose the team that will run the country's richest civic body - the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Ms De had earlier too landed herself in controversy when she tweeted during Olympics last year that all team India is doing at Rio Olympics is clicking selfies and not winning any medals. She went on to say that it's a waste of opportunity and money. "Goal of Team India at the Olympics: Rio jao. Selfies lo. Khaali haath wapas aao. What a waste of money and opportunity," she had tweeted.
Her tweet triggered a huge backlash with several celebrities and sportsmen calling her remark "unfair". Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra called it "a tad unfair," and tennis player Somdev Devvarman said it was "a little harsh to belittle the hard work put in by our athletes."
In 2013, her tweets demanding a separate state of Mumbai following the Centre's decision to create Telangana had upset the political parties of Maharashtra.