Twitter removes director's tweet, FIR lodged against Mahua Moitra

New Delhi: With Twitter pulling down her tweet and TMC MP Mahua Moitra facing an FIR for allegedly hurting religious feelings, Leena Manimekalai's documentary Kaali was again centrestage on Wednesday.

The Toronto-based director, who is in the eye of the proverbial storm over the poster of her film Kaali showing the goddess smoking and holding an LGBTQ flag, is also facing separate FIRs in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. As controversy swirled over the poster of the film, yet to be seen by most people, the embattled filmmaker termed Twitter's decision to pull down her tweet hilarious and asked whether the social media platform would also withhold posts by "hate mongers".

While Twitter pulled down Manimekalai's tweet on the matter in response to "a legal demand", the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto that was supposed to show Kaali at an event expressed regret and removed the documentary from its list of films being presented.

There were political ripples too. Amid calls for her arrest by BJP leaders over her remark on Goddess Kali, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra dared the saffron party to "bring in on" and said she was not afraid of BJP "goons".

Moitra also said that she was a "Kali worshipper and not afraid of anything".

An FIR was registered on Wednesday against Moitra in Bhopal for allegedly "outraging religious feelings".

"Bring it on BJP! Am a Kali worshipper. I am not afraid of anything. Not your ignoramuses. Not your goons. Not your police. And most certainly not your trolls. Truth doesn't need back up forces," Moitra tweeted.

Moitra further tweeted: "Jai Ma Kali! The goddess Bengalis worship is fearless & non-appeasing."

Earlier, Shashi Tharoor said he was "taken aback by the attack" on the Trinamool Congress MP, and urged people to "lighten up and leave religion" to individuals to practice privately.

In a series of tweets, he said: "I am no stranger to malicious manufactured controversy, but am still taken aback by the attack on @MahuaMoitra for saying what every Hindu knows, that our forms of worship vary widely across the country. What devotees offer as bhog (offering) says more about them than about the goddess".

He further wrote: "We have reached a stage where no one can say anything publicly about any aspect of religion without someone claiming to be offended. It's obvious that @MahuaMoitra wasn't trying to offend anyone. I urge every1 to lighten up & leave religion to individuals to practice privately."

Moitra also found support from actor Swara Bhasker.

@MahuaMoitra is awesome! More power to her voice! she said.

With her film grabbing headlines again, Manimekalai took to Twitter to respond to a news report about her post being taken down by the microblogging site.

"This is hilarious," she said.

"Will @TwitterIndia withhold the tweets of the 200000 hate mongers?! These lowlife trolls tweeted and spread the very same poster that they find objectionable. Kaali cannot be lynched. Kaali cannot be raped. Kaali cannot be destroyed. She is the goddess of death," she added.