An elected representative of the All India Trinamool Congress, Mahua Moitra, has issued a clarification after she visibly endorsed a social-media post by a Canadian vlogger that mocked Diwali and labelled Indians “brain dead.” She stated the endorsement was unintentional, occurring while she was travelling, and that she had meant to agree with a different post.
The post in question came from a vlogger identified by the handle “CelticAshes,” which showed streets littered during Diwali celebrations and included remarks that Indians were “brain dead.” Ms Moitra’s reaction—an “I agree” response beneath the video—triggered sharp criticism from rival political parties and social-media users. The Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal accused her of expressing “anti-India and anti-Hindu sentiment.”
Ms Moitra clarified via her social-media handle that her feed had displayed multiple videos while she was in transit, and she had simply clicked “I agree” on the wrong one. Her statement read: “Just clarifying my feed was showing a lot of videos and I meant to say ‘I agree’ to a video just below the racist one by some Nate. My mistake. Travelling & didn’t check till now… But was a genuine mistake. Sorry trolls.”
Opposition parties seized on the incident to criticise her political stance and past remarks. The BJP pointed to her previous comment describing the goddess Kali as a deity who accepts meat and alcohol, and alleged her of “believing Bangladesh is better than India” and “compromising national security in exchange for luxury handbags.”
Social-media users were largely unconvinced by Ms Moitra’s explanation. One user wrote: “Should-have gone with ‘someone hacked my account’ or ‘my intern had control’—would’ve sold much better as a justification.” Another commented: “It’s okay, looks like your phone did an override and wrote ‘I agree’ on its own. Your past record absolutely doesn’t suggest that you can do such a thing.”
In her clarification, Ms Moitra emphasised that she had deleted the “I agree” reaction once she realised her mistake. She maintained her track record supports her claim of inadvertence and noted the video she had intended to endorse related to littering during Diwali, not to any derogatory commentary.
The incident adds to a series of controversies involving Ms Moitra. It comes amid heightened scrutiny of political figures’ social-media activity and growing public intolerance for perceived cultural or religious insensitivity. Her explanation frames the episode as a genuine error, yet critics argue it underscores careless engagement with inflammatory online content and a lack of responsiveness to the sensibilities of festival celebrations.
Ms Moitra represents the Krishnanagar parliamentary constituency in West Bengal and has been a vocal member of her party’s national discourse. The TMC leadership has not issued a full public statement on whether disciplinary measures will follow, but party insiders say the episode is under review.
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