'Honoured': Sushma Swaraj responds to trolls over interfaith passport issue

A section of social media attacked Swaraj and the ministry for taking action against the officer, claiming that he was just doing his duty

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was on Sunday trolled and abused on Twitter over a controversy involving the issuance of passport to an inter-faith couple.

Last week, a Passport Seva Kendra official, Vikas Mishra, in Lucknow was transferred after the inter-faith couple alleged that he humiliated them when they went to the office with their passport applications.

According to the couple, he asked the husband to convert to Hinduism and pulled up the wife for marrying a Muslim.

A section of social media attacked Swaraj and the ministry for taking action against Mishra, claiming that he was just doing his duty.

However, the minister took it on the chin and retweeted some of the tweets that were even abusive and communal in nature.

I was out of India from 17th to 23rd June 2018. I do not know what happened in my absence. However, I am honoured with some tweets. I am sharing them with you. So I have liked them, she tweeted.

Her reaction to the trolls was praised by the Congress.

Mishra had said in his defence that he was secular and had told the woman that her 'nikahnama' showed her name as Shazia Anas, which should be endorsed in her file.

"For this she refused. If she had consented... we would have sent it to the 'A' section for data modification. We have to see which person is taking the passport in what name. There is documentary proof, how can we ignore that. I am secular and I have myself had an inter-caste marriage," he told the media.

Congress had earlier attacked the BJP over the incident, claiming that it reflected the psyche of hatred and division imbibed by the BJP.

Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala accused the saffron party of dividing the minds, hearts and soul of Indians.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said the alleged humiliation was part of a disease that has crept into society and blamed the BJP for the situation.