india

Updated: Sep 11, 2017 17:21 IST

Sorry won’t do on Twitter, it seems. Actor-politician Paresh Rawal on Sunday tweeted that Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan was not accorded the 21 gun salute after he died fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

When he people pointed out that Major Unnikrishnan, a National Security Guard (NSG) commando, was cremated with a 21-gun salute in Bengaluru in November 2008, Rawal tweeted this.

Maj Sandip Unnikrishnan who martyred in Mumbai Taj attack was from Banglore, was not given 21 gun salute by the state ! — Paresh Rawal (@SirPareshRawal) September 10, 2017

Sorry the Word NOT was written by mistake in Maj Sandip's tweet . So pardon the mistake n get the sarcasm ! — Paresh Rawal (@SirPareshRawal) September 10, 2017

When a journalist asked Rawal why doesn’t he admit that he made a mistake, the BJP leader tweeted:

Sarcasm is not about Maj sandips Death n u know what the tweet means n who I am hinting at so don't misinterpret! https://t.co/zdfRruP6Qm — Paresh Rawal (@SirPareshRawal) September 10, 2017

Twitter users accused him of propaganda, with many asking him to verify his statements before posting “utterly ignorant stuff”. They also said BJP’s BS Yeddyurappa was the chief minister of Karnataka in 2008.

The BJP leader’s tweet came days after senior journalist and Hindu right-wing critic Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead in Bengaluru, was laid to rest with full state honours.

Rawal had kicked off a Twitter storm in May after he said that writer Arundhati Roy should be tied to an army jeep, suggesting she be used in a manner similar to a Kashmiri man in the Valley. Rawal also endorsed a tweet by another user that suggested journalist Sagarika Ghose be treated similarly, with many users seeing it as an attempt to incite violence by an elected public representative.

Here’s a look at some of the responses:

Paresh pappu ban gaya. Hahhaha — Prasanna Senapati (@senapati4) September 10, 2017

A high class actor and a low class propagandist, that's what he has become. — Ankur Tandon (@tweet_me_80) September 10, 2017

How lies spread. Maj Unnikrishnan was created with full military honours. Using the death of a soldier for propaganda is really low. https://t.co/rXjwt3otLe — Saikat Datta (@saikatd) September 10, 2017

Hope you realise what you've become. — Ratnabali B (@reallybadhairda) September 10, 2017

Paresh rawal is an actor he can do anything for money he can act like nationalist or spread fake news.anupurm kher is also doing same . — Mir hyder hussain (@Mirhyderhussai5) September 11, 2017

Sir BS Yediyurappa was CM in 2008 November when Major Unnikrishnan sacrificed his life for the nation! — Arun not official (@MisraArun080565) September 10, 2017

Sir ji thoda google kar liya karo .. you r great actor but pls don't make of real life comedy — Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha (@Mrityunjoykjha) September 10, 2017

There were few, however, who believed his statement and defended Rawal.