India blocked Austrian economist 'X' account on controversial post

New Delhi, Sep 5 The Government on Friday blocked the X account of Austrian economist Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn after he shared a controversial post calling for the “dismantling” of India.

The post, which went viral through screenshots, depicted a distorted map showing areas of Indian territory as belonging to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Khalistan.

In his message, Fehlinger-Jahn wrote: “I call to dismantle India into ExIndia. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is Russia's man. We need friends of freedom for Khalistan.”

The post triggered widespread outrage across social media, drawing sharp criticism from political leaders and netizens alike.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned why India should tolerate such propaganda, urging the Ministry of External Affairs to raise the matter with the Austrian Embassy.

Following a review, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology directed X to withhold the account in India. The account has since been disabled for users in the country.

Fehlinger-Jahn currently serves as President of the Austrian Committee for NATO Membership of Ukraine, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Austria, and sits on the board of the Action Group for Regional Economic Integration of the Southern Balkans.

In the midst of intense trolling, Gunther's 2023 tweet, in which he endorsed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as India's next prime minister, also went viral. In a previous tweet, Gunther attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of being pro-China and pro-Russia.

The controversy comes just months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to Austria in July 2024, the first by an Indian PM in 41 years, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

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