Haryana MLA Anil Vij removes 'minister' from his X bio, says want to grow social media presence based on name

Chandigarh: Anil Vij, who holds multiple portfolios in the Haryana government, has dropped the word 'minister' from his bio on X to grow his presence on social media with his name and said that he is "not dependent on any tag".

The 72-year-old BJP leader, who has more than 8 lakh followers on X, changed his bio from 'Anil Vij Minister Haryana, India' to 'Anil Vij Ambala Cantt Haryana, India' on Tuesday.

"I want to grow my viewership (presence on social media) as Anil Vij, not as a minister. I registered on social media platforms much before I became a minister. On my Facebook page too, you will not find 'minister' written in my profile," Vij told PTI on Thursday.

"People know me as Anil Vij. The content I post and my viewership should be based on that and not on the fact that I am a minister. Anil Vij is not dependent on any tag (minister etc.)," he said.

Vij holds Energy, Transport and Labour portfolios.

He clarified that his decision to drop 'minister' from his X bio had nothing to do with his claim of a "parallel" BJP unit being run in his home constituency Ambala Cantonment.

On September 12, the seven-time MLA created a stir by claiming in a post on X that some people were running a "parallel" BJP unit in Ambala Cantonment with the blessings of senior leaders.

He also asked people to share their suggestions on dealing with the "detractors" in the comment section.

Asked about the timing of his update X bio, Vij said he earlier did the same on his Facebook page.

"I decided that even on the X handle, it should be Anil Vij only," he said.