CHANDIGARH:With more than 32 lakh Internet users in Haryana and a 76.6 per cent literacy rate, the social media trend among politicians and bureaucrats of the state is on the rise. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has one lakh followers on Twitter, Lok Sabha member from Rohtak Deepender Singh Hooda has 90,000 and senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka has 83,600.
The most vocal Haryana politician on Twitter is Health Minister Anil Vij. Though he has just over 5,000 followers on the platform, he has been speaking out against his own government on it. His recent tweets include “Thank You Chief Minister For Taking Keen Interest into My Departments. I am Relaxed”.
On April 14, he paraphrased a dialogue from the 1975 Bollywood blockbuster Sholay: “Mein aise haalat paida karna chahata hoon ki door-door tak jab koyi ultrasound centre jaye to doctor kahe bhaag ja nahi toh Anil Vij aa jayega (I want to create such a situation that if anyone approaches the ultrasound centre for illegal sex determination test the doctor asks to run away or else Anil Vij will come)”.
Vij had also tweeted his support to Khemka when he was transferred from the Transport Department to the State Archives Department. “Even till today I am with Ashok Khemka. I will meet the Chief Minister and talk about this issue.”
Khemka is the most followed bureaucrat in the state. He recently tweeted, “CS Day- Political intervention v. interference! Moot question is how to distinguish the two? Haziness suits both”.
Khattar tweets about development, work done by his government and future plans. From 10,000 followers in October last year to over a lakh now, Khattar’s following has been increasing by 15,000 new followers each month. Through his account @mlkhattar, he tweeted about wheat procurement, “The interest of farmers is our topmost priority - wheat would be procured at the Minimum Support Price of Rs.1450 per quintal.”
The chief minister’s office has created an official Twitter handle @cmohry, but it is yet to take off. Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) expelled leader Yogendra Yadav (@AapYogendra) has 3.85 lakh followers followed by former Congress MP Naveen Jindal (@MPNaveenJindal) with 1.51 lakh. Haryana Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu has 42,000 followers and Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh has 7,200. One of his tweets reads, “There will also be an effort to map out our prospective areas of international military cooperation in the fight against terrorism”. Other ministers active on twitter are Birender Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar.
Haryana’s opposition leaders are not far behind. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has around 3,300 followers and he tweeted recently, “Congress has stood by farmers in past, is standing, will continue to stand & fight for farmers’ rights of just compensation w/out any delay”. His son Deepender Singh Hooda, MP from Rohtak constituency, uploads photos of places he visits officially.
Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar has 12,000 followers and tweeted about a farmer committing suicide at an AAP rally in Delhi, “#SuicideBlamegame. Condolences to family of Gajender Singh. Farmers should not give up hope. Congress is fighting for their rights and will get them their due. #Modi govt needs to show great sensitivity to plight of farmers.” Other leaders active on Twitter are Haryana Janhit Congress president Kuldeep Bishnoi, Hisar MP Dushyant Singh Chautala (INLD) and former power minister Captain Ajay Singh Yadav.