Kiran Bedi, a former IPS officer turned politician, is not new to controversies, having put her foot in her mouth on several occasions in the recent past.
But Bedi seemed to have made her biggest gaffe yet when she put up a post on Twitter that read - 'It needed a Vajpayee to identify a Kalam' - a tweet that angered Twitterati in India who are mourning the demise of former president APJ Abdul Kalam on Monday.
Kalam collapsed at an event at IIM Shillong on Monday and died of a cardiac arrest before he was rushed to the hospital.
It needed a Vajpayee to identify a Kalam..
— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) July 28, 2015
While Indians across all fields and parties condoled Kalam's demise, Bedi's tweet touched a raw nerve, especially since it seemed to be politically coloured.
The tweet seemed to be a reminder that Kalam became the president while BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power in 2002.
However, netizens were quick to remind Bedi that it was not Vajpayee who 'identified' Kalam, given that the rocket scientist had won a Padma Bhushan in 1981, a Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997.
Even though the tweet was preceded by praise for Abdul Kalam, her politicisation of the 'People's President' did not go down well with netizens.
Some accused her of sycophancy, while others also made crude comments about her political career in the BJP.
Bedi, who recently lost the Delhi elections as a BJP CM-candidate, has made one too many gaffes since kicking off her political career, something which was also seen as a reason for her electoral defeat.
However, this time, Indians may be less forgiving. Here are some of the Twitter reactions to Bedi's post:
@thekiranbedi Sorry but you are wrong. Kalam's accomplishments surpass by far his appointment as President of India.
— Rumayath (@Rumayath) July 28, 2015
@thekiranbedi Please! Kalam Sir's identity isn't because of Vajpayee. In fact Vajpayee government got its identity because of him — ツSonal ♡ (@SonalMehra_) July 28, 2015
@thekiranbedi Vajpeyeeji made Kalam the President. But everyone knew him as a big scientist before that. No need to go overboard.
— Arun Naik (@arunbnaik) July 28, 2015
When you think it cant get any worse and thn u read her tweet "@thekiranbedi: It needed a Vajpayee to identify a Kalam.." — Ranjeet Singh (@88_Ranjeet) July 28, 2015
@thekiranbedi How mindful of you to leave no opportunity to politicize things, even if it involves a great legend who passed away a day back
— Guneet Bhatia (@Guneet_B) July 28, 2015
@thekiranbedi can there be a bigger insult to #KalamSir ? BJP needed Kalam&still does- he was independent of parties @MrsGandhi — Thirumal Raja (@thirumalraja) July 28, 2015