NEW DELHI: Hours after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her husband Swaraj Kaushal took to social network registering their protest against Twitter trolls following the passport row in Lucknow, at least two senior politicians now have condemned such behaviour of net savvy citizens.
"Strongly condemn the hateful and vicious abuse being directed at one of our senior most Parliamentarians, Sushma Swarajji. Such disrespectful comments should not be tolerated," tweeted Congress leader Jyotidaditya Scindia.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee also condemned "the language used on the social media" against the Minister.
"Strongly condemn the language used on the social media against @sushmaswaraj Ji. She is a senior politician. We must respect each other and must never indulge in any form of verbal abuse," Ms Banerjee posted.
For her part, Ms Swaraj tweeted on Sunday evening and counseled that "foul language" should not be used to criticise her.
"In a democracy difference of opinion is but natural. Pls do criticise but not in foul language.
Criticism in decent language is always more effective," she wrote.
During last one week or so, Tweets criticising the Ministry of External Affairs decision to grant a passport to a couple and transferring the passport official from Lucknow had provoked angry tweets against the government and gradually the onslaught turned into abuse targeting Ms Swaraj personally.
Media reports earlier claimed that Tanvi Seth and her husband Mohammad Anas Siddiqui, married for 11 years, had claimed that they were humiliated and abused by the passport officer Vikas Mishra.
They also alleged that Mishra asked the husband to convert to Hinduism.
The political parties like Congress and AIMIM also had joined the issue and targeted the BJP.
The row over the micro blogging messages attacking Ms Swaraj took a new turn when one missive in the micro blogging site had gone to the extent of urging her husband Swaraj Kaushal, a former Mizoram Governor, to "beat her up" to stop Muslim appeasement.
Mr Kaushal on Sunday retweeted the missive from one Mukesh Gupta and said: "Your (Gupta's) words have given us unbearable pain".
In another missive, Mr Kaushal, an eminent lawyer and who negotiated the Mizo Accord in 1980s, writes: "Such was her (Sushma's) devotion to the family. As per my father's wish, she (Sushma Swaraj) lit my father's pyre. We adore her".
On June 30, Ms Swaraj had tweeted: "Friends : I have liked some tweets. This is happening for the last few days.
Do you approve of such tweets ? Please RT" The Twitter poll, according to her showed around 57 per cent sympathised with her but at the same time apparently 43 per cent seemed to back the attack against Sushma Swaraj.