Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, who is already legal cases for an objectionable tweet on Goddess Kali, now seems to be facing a new case for a tweet defaming an entire community in Assam. An FIR has been lodged in Assam against Mahua for ‘insulting the sentiments of Assamese’. On Friday 15th July 2022, Assam’s Jatiya Sangrami Sena lodged an FIR in the Sivasagar Sadar police station in Sivasagar district demanding an unconditional apology. Mahua Moitra is asked to apologize for linking the surname ‘Gogoi’ to sexual abuse.
In an attempt to criticize the decision of prohibiting certain words in parliamentary affairs, Mahua Moitra had ended up labelling people with Gogoi surname as sexual abusers. On July 14, she had tweeted, “My first of new twitter series on replacements for unparliamentary words. Banned word- Sexual Harassment. Replacement- Mr. Gogoi.”
My first of new twitter series on replacements for unparliamentary words .
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) July 14, 2022
Banned word- Sexual Harassment
Replacement- Mr. Gogoi
Gogoi is a very common surname amongst the people of the Ahom community in Assam. Therefore, there was an outrage in Assam over this tweet by the TMC MP. The FIR was registered against Mahua Moitra in the Sivasagar district.
Pranab Chetia is the President of the Sivasagar district unit of Jatiya Sangrami Sena. He said in the complaint, “It has been observed that her (Moitra’s) Twitter comment is deliberately replacing the word sexual harassment with the word Mr. Gogoi, which is a clear intention to defame and disregard an established ethnic community of Assam, and hence I urge the law of the land to protect the sanctity, integrity, and respect of the Ahom community and bring Mohua Moitra to justice.”
Jatiya Sangrami Sena president Chitu Barua said that while it is understood that Maitra was targeting former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, even then such blatant defamation of a community can’t be acceptable. ‘Mahua Maitra will have to seek apology by kneeling down and holding her ears’, he added.
National Award-winning filmmaker and film critic Utpal Borpujari also reacted to Mahua Moitra for her tweet. Utpal Borpujari tweeted, “Who is this “Mr. Gogoi”? Please give the complete name if you have a specific person in mind. Else, it’s a slur on all the Gogoi’s. (Yes, the list of ‘unparliamentary’ words is ridiculous, but that can be opposed without being equally ridiculous).”
Who is this “Mr Gogoi”? Please give the complete name if you have a specific person in mind. Else, it’s a slur on all the Gogois. (Yes, the list of ‘unparliamentary’ words is ridiculous, but that can be opposed without being equally ridiculous). https://t.co/eHc72mzkfG
— উৎপল বৰপূজাৰী Utpal Borpujari (@UtpalBorpujari) July 14, 2022
As the controversy surfaced, Mahua Moitra tried to clarify her stand. In a separate tweet, she wrote, “Just for those sanghis twisting tweet to say I targeted all Gogois let me spell it out: Mister Ranjan Gogoi. Honourable MP, Rajya Sabha.”
Just for those sanghis twisting tweet to say I targetted all Gogois let me spell it out:
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) July 15, 2022
Mister Ranjan Gogoi. Honourable MP, Rajya Sabha. https://t.co/FKJBhNOEz8
In this way, Mahua Moitra clarified that she wished to take a dig at the former chief justice of India Justice Ranjan Gogoi. However, her original tweet is still there which just mentions the surname Gogoi.
Mahua Moitra’s tweet came after Assam TMC chief Ripun Bora said that he had asked the party to intervene in the matter as it has caused a huge outrage in Assam. Talking to media, he said that it was an unnecessary comment made in personal capacity by Moitra, and the party has nothing to with it. He said that he talked to the TMC high command to intervene, and after that the party asked Moitra to clarify that she is not targeting the entire Gogoi community, but only one specific person. TMC is trying to establish its presence in Assam, and such controversy can derail that plan, the reason why Ripun Bora acted fast to get the clarification tweeted by Mahua Moitra. However, this may be too late as there is already massive outrage in the state, and a police complaint already has been filed.
It is notable that in April 2019, a woman employee of the Supreme Court accused the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment. However, Justice Gogoi, after taking suo moto cognizance of the case, headed a three-judge bench to deal with it. He later got a clean chit in this case.
