Former CBI additional director and retired IPS officer M.Nageswara Rao’s statement calling activist Swami Agnivesh’s death a “good riddance” has invited flak for him and triggered outrage on social media.
On September 11, just hours after Agnivesh’s death, Rao put out a tweet saying he was an “anti-Hindu donning saffron clothes.”
https://twitter.com/MNageswarRaoIPS/status/1304450962036158465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304450962036158465%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheprint.in%2Findia%2Fformer-cbi-chief-nageswara-rao-slammed-for-calling-swami-agniveshs-death-good-riddance%2F501200%2F
“My grievance against Yamaraj is why did he wait this long,” he further wrote.
Agnivesh, 80, died at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences in New Delhi on September 11, after a multiple-organ failure and a cardiac arrest.
As the founder-chairperson of the Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Bonded Labour Liberation Front), Agnivesh gained recognition across the country and the globe for his efforts to end bonded labour.
He was also a vocal opponent of communal politics and implored people to “unitedly fight communal forces”.
Many on Twitter called out Rao for spreading “hate”.
Historian Irfan Habib called out Rao and questioned what he would have done “as a police officer”.
You are a disgrace. Can imagine what all you must have done as a police officer? Abusing the dead may be Hindutva but is certainly not Hinduism. Better late than never. Get yourself treated. https://t.co/Shh4zlmduc
— S lrfan Habib एस इरफान हबीब عرفان حبئب (@irfhabib) September 12, 2020
Many others such as lawyer Navdeep Singh pointed out that he was serving in the government until recently, “with such thoughts at the back of his mind”.
However, despite the backlash, Rao insisted that he wasn’t wrong.
https://twitter.com/MNageswarRaoIPS/status/1304626821510565888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304626821510565888%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheprint.in%2Findia%2Fformer-cbi-chief-nageswara-rao-slammed-for-calling-swami-agniveshs-death-good-riddance%2F501200%2F
https://twitter.com/MNageswarRaoIPS/status/1304484892047073281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1304484892047073281%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheprint.in%2Findia%2Fformer-cbi-chief-nageswara-rao-slammed-for-calling-swami-agniveshs-death-good-riddance%2F501200%2F
This is not the first time Rao has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
In July, 2020, Rao had tweeted a series of graphics on the story of Project Abrahamisation of Hindu Civilisation.
https://twitter.com/MNageswarRaoIPS/status/1286870430104424449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1286870430104424449%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheprint.in%2Findia%2Fformer-cbi-chief-nageswara-rao-slammed-for-calling-swami-agniveshs-death-good-riddance%2F501200%2F
Many retired IPS officers had criticised Rao for his comments at the time.
Rao, a 1986-batch IPS officer, was shunted out as CBI’s additional director in July 2019 after spending one year in that post. He was then appointed as the General (DG) Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard, the tenure of which ended in July ,2020.
Rao was made the interim CBI chief in 2018 amid a spat between then Director General Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana.
He had a controversial career with several complaints of financial irregularities which led to investigations against him.
Some of the complaints against him included scuttling and influencing investigations within the CBI, misappropriation of funds while in office and his wife’s involvement in a shell company.
