“When a big tree falls, the ground shakes”: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in now deleted tweet

New Delhi, May 21: Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury raised eyebrows on Saturday with his tribute tweet to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on Twitter.

He posted an infographic with a picture of Rajiv Gandhi and his infamous statement, "When a big tree falls, the ground shakes." However, he immediately deleted and shared another post with the former PM's another quote. It was a controversial statement made by the former PM justifying the 1984 Sikh genocide in the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination.

"Development is not about factories, dams and roads. Development is about people. The goal is material, cultural and spiritual fulfilment for the people. The human factor is of supreme value in development," the message said.

Adhir Chowdhury distanced himself from the message and said, "The tweet against my name in the tweeter account has nothing to do with my own observation." He further stated, "a malicious campaign is propagated by those forces inimical to me. [sic]"

Later, he claimed that his Twitter account was hacked and he has filed a complaint with South Avenue Police Station in Delhi. "I am vociferously refuting the content of the text quoted against my name. Today itself I am going to legal action against those offenders, if not digital criminals," he is quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary. He tweeted, "On his death anniversary, paying tributes to our former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi."

The former prime minister was assassinated in 1991 by the terrorist organisation Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Tamil Nadu where he was on an election campaign. He was 46.