Maneka Gandhi to Gurmehar Kaur: Complain, you will get a response

BENGALURU: Union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi has said student Gurmehar Kaur would get an “assured response” from her ministry, if she complains about the social media trolling and threats she has received after her Facebook post against the ruling BJP’s student wing, ABVP.

In an SMS response to a query from ET, routed through her OSD Manoj Arora, Gandhi said: “The ministry has an anti-trolling response wherein any woman on social media may send in a complaint to complaint-mwcd@gov.in and there will be an assured response.”

ET’s query was: “What are your views on the trolling of Gurmeher Kaur, given that you yourself have been trolled on social media earlier?”

Kaur reportedly had to leave New Delhi after getting rape and death threats on social media for her stand against ABVP, following the student clashes, stoning and alleged molestation at Ramjas College on February 22, where JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid were to attend a meeting.

Kaur posted on FB: “I am a student from Delhi University. I’m not afraid of ABVP. I am not alone. Every student in India is with me,” which unleashed a storm of trolling and critical comments from Union minister Kiren Rijiju and MP Pratap Simha, retired cricketer Virender Sehwag and actor Randeep Hooda.

Gandhi has written letters on women’s issues by asking them to tweet to her or post on the ministry’s FB account about gender equality measures and issues. “We have received an overwhelming response with over 250 tweets in less than 24 hours, where users have stated how they exercise equality and hope for a more gender-equal India,” she said, in her SMS response.