Hindu social media warriors claim second scalp: Hinduphobe Tushar Panchal forced to resign as CM Chouhan’s media advisor

Recently, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan gave rise to a social media storm after it came to light that Tushar Panchal – a political consultant and head of a communication consultancy firm was appointed as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the MP chief minister’s office. However, soon – the past tweets of Panchal were unearthed, where the man was seen making anti-Hindu jibes and also making snide remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Upon seeing such tweets, the ‘right wing’ rose up in arms against the appointment of Panchal as OSD to Shivraj Singh Chauhan.

Now, Tushar Panchal has announced he would not be accepting the responsibility offered to him, which is to say the Madhya Pradesh government has realised the perils of associating with someone who prima facie appears to have no qualms about using the “gaumutra” jibe liberally. “I have decided to not accept the responsibility offered to me by @chouhanshivraj ji and have communicated my inability to the CM,” Panchal tweeted Tuesday.

Earlier, Panchal, while announcing his new job at the Madhya Pradesh CMO had said, “Friends, many of you have known me as a man behind the curtains. I have been working closely with many CMs and political leaders across the country since 2001.” Soon, however, his past tweets were brought to the fore, in which Panchal was seen making distasteful remarks against Hindus, their beliefs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As per informed sources in MP BJP which spoke to the New Indian Express, Tushar’s company had managed the social media war room of the MP CM and government during the 2018 Assembly polls in the central Indian state. With the COVID-19 pandemic’s second wave denting the MP government’s image, the MP CM decided to make Tushar his communication advisor with OSD designation to spruce up his and the government’s image.

Read more: Pressure from Right-Wing social media works as Dinesh Mansera resigns from Uttarakhand CM Office

This is the second time that a person with a questionable history has been made an OSD to a BJP chief minister. Last month, barely two days after the Uttarakhand government had appointed senior journalist Dinesh Mansera for the post of media advisor to the chief minister, it withdrew the order. Then too, the right-wing had to stand up against the appointment and build pressure on the Uttarakhand chief minister to drop his choice of Mansera as media advisor.

The reaction of the Right on Twitter to Tushar Panchal’s appointment should serve as a reminder to BJP state units and the chief minister to not make haphazard and ill-thought appointments. A comprehensive vetting process must be put in place for all such crucial appointments. Most certainly, a strong ecosystem will not be constructed by making such appointments – which almost always end up getting cancelled.