Constable Pramod Tawde’s picture, in which he is seen offering a yellow rose to MNS chief Raj Thackeray, has gone viral on social networking sites. Several people have launched a campaign to spread the word about Mr Tawde, and have called him “courageous” and someone who “stands apart”.
While Mr Tawde is likely to face the flack from the police department for his gesture, he has certainly been hailed as a hero on social networking sites. “Mr Tawde who presented a rose to Mr Thack-eray arrested by Azad Maidan police. Mumbaik-ars lets start a Gandhigiri campaign to release him (sic),” said a user of a micro-blogging site.
In another social networking website, pages titled “We support Pramod Tawde” have been created, in which users have appealed to people to support the Mumbai police constable.
While one user said, “Mr Tawde reprimanded for offering rose to Raj Thackeray. It could be a genuine gesture, from a demoralized police force,” another post read, “Why Mumbai police constable Pramod Tawde was taken into custody for greeting Raj Thackeray with a rose? Any answers Maharashtra govt.???”
Moreover, videos of Mr Tawde accusing police commissioner Arup Patnaik of insulting him are also being posted. “Mr Patnaik had told me that tu kya jyada shyana hai (are you over smart?). You look like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose,” he said.
During his speech at Azad Maidan on Tuesday, Mr Thackeray had raised concerns over policemen being assaulted, and criticised Mr Patnaik for the delayed police action.