The Congress party’s official social media account which has goofed up numerous times in the past, was in the news again, when it decided to wish legendary singer Kishore Kumar on his birth anniversary:
https://twitter.com/INCIndia/status/1025584862432976896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In the tweet the party also shared a clip of his song, Pyar Bantte Chalo and claimed that it was expressing the hope that may love triumph irrespective of someone’s individual identity.
Ironically this “love” which the Congress is now professing, seemed non-existent during the Indira Gandhi imposed emergency when it banned Kumar’s songs.
As reported by the Indian Express, the then Information and Broadcasting minister VC Shukla had banned Kumar’s songs from being played on All India Radio and Doordarshan during the Indira Gandhi imposed emergency – as he had refused to perform at a Congress rally in Mumbai. This ban was imposed on 4 May 1976 till the end of emergency.
Such a dichotomy was not lost on social media users who proceeded to criticise the Congress for its hypocrisy:
https://twitter.com/nirwamehta/status/1025645770685472768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/sh_atyagi/status/1025649708910432257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/iMarwaadi/status/1025614892244467712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/kktotlani/status/1025605682672758785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Incidentally this particular gaffe seems to have become an annual affair for the Congress party, as it had shared a similar message last year for the singer, which also resulted in it getting slammed on social media.