A social media war has broken out in the Congress party after actor-turned-politician Divya Spandana aka Ramya took a dig at KPCC president DK Shivakumar and his close aide Youth Congress president Mohammed Nalapad on Twitter.
A day after former Congress IT cell chief and former MP Divya Spandana, aka Ramya, had taken to Twitter to launch a scathing attack on her former colleagues for using media to tarnish her reputation, the Congress party’s top brass in Karnataka has hit back at former MP saying her tweets were unwarranted and unnecessary.
KPCC working president R Dhruvanarayan and Youth Congress president Mohammed Nalapad attacked the actress for her tweets directed at Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar and his supporters.
Earlier on May 12, Divya Spandana had posted a series of tweets accusing the Congress leader of destroying her credibility by planting fake news in the media after she quit the party. She stated that she did not run away and regretted remaining silent all this time.
After I quit, ‘she duped the congress of 8 crores & ran away’ was planted in the news esp Kannada channels in an attempt to destroy my credibility. I didn’t run away. I resigned for personal reasons. I certainly did not dupe the party of 8 crores. My mistake was staying silent-
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) May 12, 2022
“After I quit, ‘she duped the congress of 8 crores & ran away’ was planted in the news esp Kannada channels, in an attempt to destroy my credibility. I didn’t run away. I resigned for personal reasons. I certainly did not dupe the party of 8 crores. My mistake was staying silent,” wrote Divya Spandana.
Notably, the ex-Congress IT cell chief had also alleged that the Congress instructed its workers to troll her on social media for a remark she had made against Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar.
The tweets put out by the Congress party leadership in the state have now created a political storm within the party, with the aides of DK Shivakumar coming to his rescue.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Dhruvanarayan said that the actress has shown indiscipline by complaining against the KPCC president in public.
“She could have brought the issue to the Congress leaders instead of tweeting. She could’ve approached the AICC general secretary or the state in charge with a complaint,” Dhruvanarayan said.
Controversial Congress leader Mohammed Haris Nalapad had mocked Divya Spandana, saying he did not know whether she was still part of the Congress party.
“She is seeking attention. I did not even know where she was all these years. She is trying to find a way back into the party,” Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee president Mohammed Haris Nalapad said.
However, the actress has hit back at Mohammad Haris, saying that the Youth Congress leader President, who is on bail, is now questioning the integrity.
“This boy Nalapad is the honourable KPYCC president (on bail), son of MLA Harris, and he’s questioning my integrity. Wah!” Divya Spandana tweeted.
This boy @nalapad is the honourable @IYCKarnataka president (on bail) son of MLA Harris, and he’s questioning my integrity. Wah! ?? pic.twitter.com/wsYFcxzF1h
— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) May 12, 2022
Divya Spandana started her political career in 2012 through the Youth Congress. In 2013, she contested and won the Mandya Lok Sabha seat in a by-election. However, she lost the 2014 general elections. Later, she was appointed as the Congress party social media head.
In 2019, following Congress’ humiliating defeat in the 2019 general elections, Spandana had deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts citing a “break from politics.” She even ceased speaking with party leaders. She nearly vanished from public view after the Congress announced that none of its leaders would participate in television discussions after a row over her Tweet congratulating Nirmala Sitharaman. She was afterwards fired from her position, as per reports.
During her tenure as the Congress social media head, Congress’ Twitter handle saw a series of slip-ups over time, which made them the butt of all jokes on Twitter. Besides, like her innumerable other party members, Divya Spandana had often indulged in sharing fake news to malign the BJP government at the centre.
