New Delhi,March 23: Minister of state for external affairs VK Singh posted a series of cryptic tweets on Monday night that seemed to suggest he was unhappy about representing the government at the Pakistan Day function after his followers on Twitter criticised him for attending the event.
Singh, a former army chief, made a brief appearance of about 10 minutes at the event hosted by high commissioner Abdul Basit at the Pakistani mission. He posed for photos with Basit and stood solemnly as the envoy made a speech. He then left without interacting with the guests.
Soon after the event, Singh’s followers strongly criticised his presence at the Pakistan Day function, with some using the hashtag #partywithenemy.
Singh responded with a series of five tweets with the hashtags #Duty and #Disgust, which appeared to suggest that he was not entirely comfortable about attending the function.
“#DUTY A task or action that a person is bound to perform for moral or legal reasons,” he posted in one tweet.
“#DUTY The force that binds one morally or legally to one’s obligations,” said another. “#DUTY A job or service allocated,” he tweeted, without referring to the Pakistan Day reception or the duty he was talking about.
“#DISGUST To sicken or fill with loathing,” he tweeted. “#DISGUST To offend the moral sense, principles, or taste of,” was the final of the five tweets posted within a span of minutes.
After the media extensively reported on his tweets, Singh contended that his comments had been twisted.
“#’Disgust’ed to see how certain sections of the media are twisting this issue (sic),” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.
India and Pakistan took tentative steps towards a possible resumption of dialogue when Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar went to Islamabad earlier this month for talks with his Pakistani counterpart. Ties went into a freeze after the Pakistani envoy in New Delhi held meetings with Hurriyat leaders last year despite being asked not to do so by the external affairs ministry.
#’Disgust’ed to see how certain sections of the media are twisting this issue
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) March 23, 2015
#DISGUST To offend the moral sense, principles, or taste of
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) March 23, 2015
#DISGUST To sicken or fill with loathing
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) March 23, 2015
#DUTY A job or service allocated
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) March 23, 2015
#DUTY The force that binds one morally or legally to one’s obligations
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) March 23, 2015
#DUTY A task or action that a person is bound to perform for moral or legal reasons
— Vijay Kumar Singh (@Gen_VKSingh) March 23, 2015