New Delhi, April 30: India on Thursday said the White House has explained why it followed and then unfollowed Twitter accounts of Indian officials, also rejecting reports of discontent between New Delhi and Gulf countries over Islamophobia. India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishnkar are in touch with their counterparts. White House Explains Why it 'Followed' And Then 'Unfollowed' Indian PM Narendra Modi, President Ramnath Kovind on Twitter.

Reacting to reports of unfollowing by the White House, the MEA said: "It is cleared by The White House through media report. They briefly followed Twitter account during the President's visit. This is done so that officials of the host country can retweet the messages about the visit." According to news agency ANI, the MEA also dismissed reports that there is discord between India and Gulf countries. India Rejects USCIRF Annual Report Alleging Mistreatment of Minorities, MEA Says 'Misrepresentation Has Reached New Levels'.

"Much of we see is propaganda, the real picture is different. Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister are in touch with the leaders. During these discussions. requests were made by the countries for sending teams and medicines. There's also request to send doctors," MEA said. "Misuse of social media should not be given credence," it added.

Since the Tablighi Jamaat's Markaz in Delhi emerged as the super-spreader of coronavirus cases in India, many Indians, including those living in the Middle East, on social media have been posting communally provocative content, triggering outrage among Muslims in the Gulf countries. Several influential Arab leaders have called out these people for blaming Muslims for the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

On April 20, India had warned its citizens living in the UAE against discrimination. The ambassador to the UAE, Pavan Kapoor in a tweet said, "India and UAE share the value of non-discrimination on any grounds. Discrimination is against our moral fabric and the Rule of law. Indian nationals in the UAE should always remember this."

The warning to Indian nationals in the Gulf came after Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the federation of 57 Muslim nations, condemned "the unrelenting vicious Islamophobic campaign in India maligning Muslims for spread of COVID-19 as well as their negative profiling in media subjecting them to discrimination and violence with impunity."

A member of UAE's royal family, Princess Hend Al Qassimi also warned an Indian living in the UAE against his controversial tweets, saying, "Anyone that is openly racist and discriminatory in the UAE will be fined and made to leave." Over 14,000 people liked her tweet and thousands joined the Twitter conversation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 30, 2020 06:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).