Nitin Gadkari defends Sushma Swaraj after online abuse over passport row, says people should be 'responsible'

New Delhi: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday came out in support of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who was trolled on Twitter in connection with passports issued to an interfaith couple from Lucknow, and said she had nothing to do with the documents being sanctioned. [caption id=“attachment_4316409” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Nitin Gadkari. PTI[/caption] Swaraj has been the target of offensive tweets for helping Tanvi Seth, wife of Mohammad Anas Siddiqui, get her passport after an officer allegedly harassed her for not changing her name to a Muslim one after marriage. Expressing his displeasure over the way the external affairs minister was trolled on Twitter, Gadkari said people needed to be more “responsible”. “It is very unfortunate the way Sushma Swaraj_ji_ was trolled and the kind of propaganda being spread against her. I had a discussion with her, but when the decision (to issue the passports) was taken, she was not in the country.” “She had no connection with it. She was not there at the time. People did not like the words used against her. I think everyone should act more responsibly on the social media. It is very unfortunate,” the Union transport and shipping minister told reporters in New Delhi. Swaraj conducted a poll on Twitter, asking the users whether they “approve” of such trolling. Of the respondents, 43 percent said “yes”, while 57 percent said “no”. “In a democracy, difference of opinion is but natural. Please do criticise, but not in foul language. Criticism in decent language is always more effective,” Swaraj had tweeted earlier.