On June 14, left-liberals and Islamists rallied against filmmaker Ashoke Pandit ahead of the release of the film ’72 Hoorain’, of which he is a co-producer. Directed by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan and produced by Gulab Singh Tanwar, Kiran Dagar and Anirudh Tanwar, the film is set for release on June 7, 2023. A couple of days back, the teaser of the film was released.
Ashok Pandit is vocal against Islamists on social media, making him a prime target. This time, a vague tweet was picked by the dubious Twitter handle ‘Team Saath’ to target him and get his account suspended.
On June 13, after Jack Dorsey’s allegations against India went viral, a Twitter user ArunSFan who wrote his name as “Raghuram Rajan”, the former RBI governor, shared a report in that context. Quoting him, Pandit, who apparently confused him with the real Rajan, wrote in a now-deleted tweet, “Why are you dancing? Don’t worry. All demons like you will be killed”.
Left-liberals and Islamists were looking for such an opportunity, and Team Saath saw it as an opportunity to target Pandit right ahead of his film. In a tweet quoting Pandit, Team Saath tagged Twitter and wrote, “Dear Twitter, Ashoke Pandit is issuing a death threat to ArunSFan in full public view. This calls for an immediate suspension of his account as per your rules. They also tagged Twitter Safety and Elon Musk in the Tweet.
While the algorithm suspended Pandit’s account due to mass reporting, it is pertinent to note that he was not issuing a death threat to the user or anyone, for that matter. He was tweeting in a ‘matter of speaking’ and he meant that evil will be vanquished, not that someone should be killed.
Soon after the account got suspended, several prominent voices on Twitter came out in Pandit’s support. BJP leader Tejinder Pall Singh Bagga wrote, “why Ashoke Pandit account is suspended by @TwitterIndia? #RestoreAshokePandit”
why @ashokepandit account is suspended by @TwitterIndia ? #RestoreAshokePandit
— Tejinder Pall Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) June 14, 2023
BJP leader Kapil Mishra wrote, “Why account of Ashoke Pandit is suspended right before the release of his movie #72Hoorain? @Twitter Pls restore the handle immediately.”
Why account of @ashokepandit is suspended right before the release of his movie #72Hoorain ? @Twitter
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) June 14, 2023
Pls restore the handle immediately pic.twitter.com/OFfvlV5kNt
BJP MLA from UP Dr Shalabh Mani Tripathi wrote, “Ashoke Pandit account is suspended by Twitter India. Why? #RestoreAshokePandit”
.@ashokepandit account is suspended by @TwitterIndia , why ? #RestoreAshokePandit
— Dr. Shalabh Mani Tripathi (@shalabhmani) June 14, 2023
Nationalist leader Ramesh Solanki wrote, “Account of producer and director Ashoke Pandit is suspended right before the release of his movie #72Hoorain? @Twitter @elonmusk Pls restore the handle immediately. #BringBackAshokePandit”
Account of producer and director @ashokepandit is suspended right before the release of his movie #72Hoorain ? @Twitter @elonmusk
— Ramesh Solanki🇮🇳 (@Rajput_Ramesh) June 14, 2023
Pls restore the handle immediately#BringBackAshokePandit pic.twitter.com/bgw9sLCeCX
Activist Vijay Patel wrote, “After releasing the trailer of the #72Hoorain movie radical Islamists and the leftist ecosystem have been rattled and they have mass reported the Twitter account of Ashoke Pandit sir. Hello, @elonmusk your Indian office still have left-leaning employees?”
After releasing the trailer of the #72Hoorain movie radical Islamists and the leftist ecosystem have been rattled and they have mass reported the Twitter account of @ashokepandit sir
— Vijay Patel🇮🇳 (@vijaygajera) June 14, 2023
Hello, @elonmusk your Indian office still have left-leaning employees? pic.twitter.com/p69rZjkEbI
News18 Managing Editor Amish Devgan wrote, “Unfortunate right to freedom curbed Twitter suspended account filmmaker Ashoke Pandit.”
Unfortunate right to freedom curbed @Twitter suspended account film maker @ashokepandit . pic.twitter.com/JfxHeblZ1m
— Amish Devgan (@AMISHDEVGAN) June 14, 2023
Director of 72 Hoorain, Sanjay PS Chauhan said, “Calling on Twitter India to reconsider the suspension of Ashoke Pandit’s account. Transparency and open dialogue are crucial in building trust. #RestoreAshokePandit”
"Calling on @TwitterIndia to reconsider the suspension of @ashokepandit's account. Transparency and open dialogue are crucial in building trust. #RestoreAshokePandit"
— Sanjay P S Chauhan (@sanjaypchauhan) June 14, 2023
About 72 Hoorain
The film titled ’72 Hoorain’, featuring Pawan Malhotra and Aamir Bashir in lead roles, is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sanjay Puran Singh, a two-time recipient of the National Award. Natottam Bain, Ashok Pathak, and Rashid Naaz are among the other actors in this film. The production of the film is undertaken by Gulab Singh Tanwar, Kiran Dagar, Anirudh Tanwar, and Ashok Pandit, who serve as its producers.
The teaser of the film depicts pictures of many Islamic terrorists including Osama Bin Laden who planned and executed the 9/11 attacks in America, Ajmal Kasab who was one of the 10 terrorists in the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, Yakub Memon who executed the serial bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993, Masood Azahar responsible for the Delhi plane hijack in 1999, and many others. In the background, the voice of some leader in the Islamic terrorist outfit is heard that says, “You will get those 72 hoors. Those hoors are made for you.”
About Team Saath
‘Team Saath’ is a malicious troll account on Twitter that routinely indulges in targeted harassment of people who do not conform to its views. They use their Twitter account to target those who do not toe the Islamist and Leftist line.
It has been notorious for misusing Twitter for online bullying and targeted harassment of individuals whose political views do not align with theirs. ‘Team Saath’ Official is the go-to Twitter account for left-liberals and rabid Islamists to silence nationalist voices in the country. Not just celebrities, but even influential Twitter accounts, are subjected to targeted harassment by ‘Team Saath’ and its army of brainwashed Islamists.
As per speculations on social media, actor Sushant Singh is inextricably linked to the account ‘Team Saath’, with rumour mills claiming that he is the founder of the troll account meant for targeting and browbeating nationalistic voices into silence. Singh also boasts of his support to ‘Team Saath’ by mentioning it in his Twitter bio, raising suspicions that the account is indeed operated by him. However, a tweet by ‘Team Saath’ clarified that Sushant Singh is not the founder of the group and is rather ‘The Goodwill Ambassador’. The account, the tweet said, is run by one ‘The Linguist’, who, according to investigative journalist Vijay Patel, is an inveterate Islamist harbouring pathological hatred for PM Modi.