While no personal information can be seen now as part of her Twitter profile description, it used to earlier say: “Actor, Former Member of Parliament & currently handle (sic) Social Media & Digital Communications for Congress& I love it!”
New Delhi: Has Congress’s social media head Divya Spandana been sacked by the party? The suspicion arose on Wednesday due to a three-day long 'hiatus' on Twitter and a missing profile description. Also known as Ramya, Divya had erased her political identity as the chief of the Congress's social media wing from her Twitter profile.
While no personal information can be seen now on the handle's homepage, it used to earlier say: “Actor, Former Member of Parliament & currently handle (sic) Social Media & Digital Communications for Congress & I love it (sic)!”.
Spandana's last tweet is dated September 29 ― a long gap for someone who is expected to be active on social media almost 24x7. Given her responsibility of managing the social media machinery of India’s oldest party, that is. This has happened at a time when the Congress is looking to challenge the ruling BJP in a crucial election not even six months away.
The former actor, however, rubbished the speculation. “It is not true. I am on leave and (I) will be back tomorrow,” she told MyNation, dismissing the rumour fanned by the absence of her brief bio-data from Twitter as “some bug issue”.
Spandana, however, had been at the centre of not one but a series of controversies that left the Congress with egg on its face and even made party president Rahul Gandhi look silly on many an occasion.
Rumour has it that Spandana had been at loggerheads with Congress’s overseas affairs head Sam Pitroda. Her tweet, ‘The many facets of Rahul Gandhi,’ showing four similar profile pics of Gandhi as he was visiting Bundestag, the German Federal Parliament, had made Gandhi a laughing stock on Twitter and subject matter of hundreds of sarcastic memes.
The many facets of Rahul Gandhi. pic.twitter.com/MtoNs1TxjO
— Congress (@INCIndia)Pitroda is learnt to have conveyed his displeasure at the gaffe.
Before that, Spandana had been a co-accused in a sexual harassment case in which a former colleague had accused her close confidante Chirag Patnaik of molestation at the workplace. The victim had alleged that Spandana had not just tried to brush the matter under the carpet, but also “mentally harassed” her.
While Patnaik was later arrested by Delhi Police, the episode caused Gandhi much embarrassment as the BJP attacked him as anti-women.
More recently, in the infamous #MeraPMChorHai hashtag floated by Spandana on Twitter, an FIR had been lodged against her in Lucknow on charges of sedition, among others. A similar complaint has been lodged with Delhi Police in the same matter.
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