Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 19: Even as infighting has heated up in the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party over sacking of Dr Haseeb Drabu form the state Cabinet, the social media cell of the PDP is under scanner for targeting online the ousted leader.
Sources said the PDP's recently established social media cell, which works largely under the command of a "coterie", has been developing social media content against Drabu.
From videos where couplets are used to dance sequences to graphic images, the social media war is escalating with each passing day.
In one of the videos, viral on social media, two cartoons of PDP Ministers Syed Altaf Bukhari and Naeem Akhter are shown dancing before Dr Drabu on the music of Daler Mahendi's Tunak Tunak number.
Amid a sudden outburst of such content, some of the leaders in the party believe that it was the work of some insiders as people of Kashmir are otherwise least interested in such videos on mainstream politics.
Sources said through the social media campaign, a section of PDP leaders wants to project that the decision to sack Drabu was in the interest of people and that the people have welcomed it.
It was reliably learnt that some of the PDP leaders mainly from south Kashmir want to give an impression to the government that Drabu's ouster from the Cabinet should be seen as one of the "achievements under the Agenda of Alliance."
During winters, the PDP had approached Delhi and Mumbai-based consultancies to groom its young cadre on the social media tools "to generate a positive narrative on Kashmir".
As per news reports, a Delhi-based information technology firm trained 16 PDP workers in February on the use of social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A senior PDP leader said such creative minds are not being used to target any politician from within the party or outside.
Sources however said the party leadership may look into the matter in its meeting scheduled in Kashmir in the coming days. |
