Bengal Congress Tweets, Then Deletes Rajiv Gandhi's Controversial Quote

Kolkata: The West Bengal Congress on Saturday faced embarrassment when in its bid to remember late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 72nd birth anniversary, it tweeted one of the most controversial remarks made by him.

"When a big tree falls, the ground shakes," read the tweet referring to the infamous remarks made by Rajiv Gandhi during the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 that followed the assassination of his mother and then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

The party subsequently deleted the tweet claiming the Twitter handle was "hacked".

State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed the tweet was done in pursuance of a conspiracy. "I enquired about the tweet and was told that the account was hacked. In today's world hacking has become a usual thing. But I think, this has been done in pursuance of a conspiracy to malign the Congress on Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary," said Chowdhury adding that the party was seeking a police action.

Reacting to the gaffe, Minister of State for Home Affairs and BJP MP Kiren Rijiju tweeted, "We all remember Rajiv Gandhi ji beloved former PM of India. But West Bengal Congress shouldn't have posted this one."