Sushma Swaraj pulls up Pune man for Twitter request for wife's transfer from Jhansi Railways

Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, known for her new brand of Twitter diplomacy, pulled up a man on Sunday for requesting his wife’s transfer from the Jhansi Railways to his hometown. In a series of tweets, Swaraj slammed the Pune-based @smitraj07 (the man’s Twitter handle) for requesting an official transfer on a social media site.

Swaraj told the man that if he or his wife were in her ministry, they would have been fired by now.

Can u plz help us in ending our banwas in India? My wife is in Jhansi Rly employee and I work in Pune in IT. Been a year+.

— Smit Raj. (@smitraj07) January 8, 2017

If you or your wife were from my Ministry and such a request for transfer was made on twitter, I would have sent a suspension order by now. https://t.co/LImngQwFh6

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 8, 2017

The Pune-based man’s request followed a US man’s appeals to Swaraj who sought the minister’s help for his wife’s passport issues. On Sunday, the US citizen had posted a tweet saying:

hello madam please help my wife get passport cleared. I am forced to live without her in US. Passport issues.

— Sanjay (@sanjay_pandita1) January 8, 2017

Swaraj responded saying:

Ohh ! This banwas should end soon. @CPVIndia https://t.co/w4cqRYTMis

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 8, 2017

However, the Pune-based man’s request was not met with the same emotions. Swaraj even alerted the Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu. “I have received this tweet.”

@sureshpprabhu I have received this tweet.https://t.co/gXhQAhQNA8

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 8, 2017

Prabhu responded saying, “As per policy laid by me, I don’t look into transfers. Railway Board empowered for same. Asked Chairman, Railway Board to take suitable action as per rules.”

1/Thanks @SushmaSwaraj ji for bringing it to my notice.As per policy laid by me,I don't look into transfers.Railway Board empowered for same https://t.co/WSqxinGx1u

— Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) January 8, 2017

2/Asked Chairman,Railway Board to take suitable action as per rules https://t.co/WSqxinGx1u

— Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) January 8, 2017

Known as the minister who promptly helps people on Twitter, Swaraj was named in the Global Thinkers List of 2016 , compiled by Foreign Policy magazine. Swaraj was named in the “decision makers” category along with the Democratic Party’s nominee for US presidential election Hillary Clinton, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon, German chancellor Angela Merkel, US attorney-general Loretta Lynch, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau etc.

In a website posting, the magazine recalled how, when around 10,000 Indian workers in Saudi Arabia faced a “food crisis” earlier this year due to job losses, Swaraj tweeted about the issue to six million followers on the social media website. “What followed was a weeks-long social media operation in which Swaraj posted information for migrants about rations provided by the Indian embassy, claims for unpaid wages, and government-organised transportation home,” it said.

Saying that this was not the first time Swaraj used the internet to reach out to people abroad, the posting said, “From evacuating Indians from Yemen to helping replace lost passports, Swaraj has earned the nickname ’the common tweeple’s leader’ for her aggressive use of Twitter.”