TN BJP mocks Omar’s beard, then deletes tweet

New Delhi, January 28

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In a random move, the Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party mocked former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his long beard in a sarcastic tweet before deleting it within an hour.

The tweet had a photo of an Amazon order of five razors dispatched in Abdullah’s name to his Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar. The tweet read: “Dear Omar Abdullah, its very disheartening to see you like this while most of your corrupt friends are enjoying life outside”.  It went on to state: “Kindly accept our sincere contribution, in case of any assistance feel free to contact your counterpart INC for further help in this regard.” Within an hour, the tweet vanished but by then it already had 517 retweets and 1,272 ‘likes’.  Sources say the central leadership did not find the tweet in good taste.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh’s tweet on Monday was in similar vein.

“Articles 35 and 370 were done away with in Kashmir, not razors,” Singh, a controversial leader whose tweets have stirred controversies in the past, said as he responded to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s tweet of disbelief at Abdullah’s most recent photo.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot responded to Tamil Nadu BJP’s tweet saying: “The unprecedented detention of former J&K CMs’ without charge is illegal and totally unacceptable. Our constitutional values get further eroded leaving a question make on our democratic freedom when one exhibits the gumption to say this”.

Just a day before Republic Day, on January 25, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister’s latest photograph wearing a woollen cap and sporting a long white beard surfaced on social media and went viral.

Omar was seen smiling with snow in the backdrop. The photo has a retro touch to it. According to sources the photograph was genuine.

The National Conference leader, who has been in detention since August 5, when Article 370 was abrogated in the state, appears to have not shaved since.

In October, a different photo of Omar had surfaced, in which he was sporting a smaller beard. Agencies