The active engagement of Sushma Swaraj with the common man on Twitter is inspiring and at times, quite amusing to say the least. Her latest response to a tweet regarding a travel query had Twitterati in splits. Looks like the External Affairs Minister will now be consulting volcanoes to respond to citizens' queries on Twitter.
A user had tweeted to Sushma Swaraj regarding a trip to Bali in Indonesia, asking if the Indian government had issued an advisory in light of the eruption of the Mount Agung volcano on July 3. It seems like the External Affairs Minister had no interest in a serious response with information that could easily be found with a quick Google search.
Instead, here's her response.
I will have to consult the volcano there. https://t.co/bv2atzWtZg
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 8, 2018
There are more users tweeting to Sushma Swaraj, who has been called the 'best-loved politician' in India, because she actively engages her followers on Twitter. There have been quite a few instances where the minister has promptly responded to queries on Twitter or taken stern action based on complaints that were tweeted to her.
However, her latest response attracted polarised reactions. While many were amused, there were a few who were not too happy about her short reply.
Ha ha..those rare occasions when the @SushmaSwaraj volcano erupts.
— ashok mohapatra (@ashscribe) August 8, 2018
Hahaha . Hope the volcano would reply in kind .
— Vinod Singh Thakur (@vinofex) August 8, 2018
Volcano calling!!? Witty
— Abhigyan Ranjan (@ranjan_abhigyan) August 9, 2018
Now Volcano will definitely erupt in laughter! ?
— Dhruv. (@AhujaDhruv) August 8, 2018
Please don't take @SushmaSwaraj ji for granted. Is it the duty of EAM or Consul to issue Volcano advisories. Google and Weather site can guide you better and not FM. Be thankful that she took yr irresponsible tweet as a mistake and replied with humor. @sushilkrrai
— Naresh Vasnani (@Mr_NTV) August 8, 2018
Is the volcano also fuming like the honest Indians here, over the cheap theatrics of rules-related cover-up, your ministry and officials have been engaged in recently?
— Siddhant Tripathi (@sid_tripathi91) August 9, 2018
Hmm..?
While MEA has no expertise is seismic activities or Geological behavior .. U may want to consider this report from ground zero. https://t.co/QhAISl6yLp
— Chinmayanand Jha (@cnjha) August 8, 2018
What she means to say is that it isn't safe currently to go there as there are volcanos currently errupting.. and why should @SushmaSwaraj ma'am help you out with your trip planning? Please take a joke ?
— ramesh gowda (@ramesh_gowdaa) August 8, 2018
After multiple eruptions last year, the active volcano of Mount Agung in Bali has erupted three times so far this year, with the most recent activity being on July 3.
While the recent eruption resulted in the evacuation of about 700 people living in the vicinity, the volcanic eruption and tectonic activities since August 2017 has reportedly affected over 40,000 people, with dozens of villages in the region being evacuated. Hundreds of flights from the Lombok International Airport were cancelled, leaving about 60,000 tourists stranded. While arrangements have been made to relocate and reschedule, tourism in Bali has taken a major hit.
