When a public figure slips, their apology often reveals more than the act itself. Mahua Moitra’s “clarification” after agreeing with a white supremacist account is a masterclass in how not to apologise- defensive, dismissive, and dripping with entitlement.
After ForPol India published the story of her engagement with a racist post describing Indians abroad as “braindead immigrants who turned the West into shitholes,” Moitra issued a statement that began like an explanation and ended like a taunt.
“Just clarifying my Twitter feed was showing a lot of videos and I meant to say ‘I agree’ to a video just below the racist one by some Nate. My mistake. Travelling & didn’t check till now. Thanks @RShivshankar for calling me out but was a genuine mistake. Sorry trolls.”
A nation of readers stopped at the last two words. “Sorry trolls.” That wasn’t contrition. That was contempt.
The Anatomy of a Non-Apology
Moitra’s clarification didn’t sound like a public representative speaking to citizens, it sounded like a celebrity snapping at fans. The tone was unmistakable: I’m above this, and you’re lucky I even noticed.
She could have said, “That was careless of me. I regret it.”
She could have said, “It was an error, not an endorsement.”
Instead, she made herself the victim of a technological accident- a traveller, besieged by bad Wi-Fi, betrayed by her feed, and haunted by an unlucky click.
It was not an apology. It was theatre. And not good theatre, the kind performed for an audience she doesn’t respect, but still needs.
The Liberal Elite’s Favourite Trick: Arrogance Disguised as Irony
Mahua Moitra’s explanation didn’t merely defend a mistake, it flaunted a worldview. A worldview where mistakes are beneath her, and accountability is optional.
This is the modern liberal elite’s reflex: never bow, only deflect.
When they err, they call it irony.
When they offend, they call it context.
And when they’re called out, they call you a troll.
The arrogance is generational. They live in a feedback loop of applause, journalists, think-tankers, influencers, all reinforcing one another’s brilliance. The result? A moral immunity so thick it can’t recognise its own rot. Moitra’s “sorry trolls” wasn’t an accident of tone; it was an expression of class. It was the language of those who think remorse is for the uneducated, and irony is a shield against accountability.
The ‘Accident’ Nobody Believes
Let’s be honest: no one believes her. No one buys that a sitting MP “accidentally” clicked “agree” on a post calling Indians “braindead.” This wasn’t a case of a 70-year-old discovering the internet. This was a seasoned politician fluent in social media warfare. The defence of “I clicked the wrong one” belongs to the annals of excuses, right next to “my account was hacked” and “I was being sarcastic.”
A Delhi-based political analyst put it best: “She didn’t slip; she revealed.”
Revealed what? That beneath the curated eloquence lies a fatigue with the people she claims to represent. An unspoken contempt for the very audience whose votes she harvests.
The Disdain Is the Point
The problem isn’t the like. It’s the laughter.
“Sorry trolls” was not just a sign-off- it was a sneer broadcast to millions. A digital smirk at the idea of being answerable. A writer from Mumbai described it as “the elite’s emotional accent.”
“They can’t just apologise, they have to condescend while doing it. They can’t just say they were wrong, they have to remind you they’re smarter than you.”
This isn’t about left or right. It’s about a cultural hierarchy where the English-speaking class treats accountability as performance art. They’d rather sound clever than sound sorry.
The Internet Didn’t Chase the Fire- She Fed It Herself
After ForPol India’s report, a few sympathetic voices claimed the publication had “amplified” a minor controversy. The irony is that there was nothing to amplify, the arrogance did the work on its own. What burned wasn’t the coverage. It was Mahua Moitra’s attitude. The story could have died quietly with a simple apology. But her tone, flippant, superior, and laced with that final “sorry trolls”- poured petrol over an ember.
As one reader from Hyderabad wrote to us-
“You didn’t light the fire. You just turned the lights on.”
Another from Shillong put it more sharply-
“She didn’t get cancelled. She exposed herself. The moment she typed ‘sorry trolls,’ she told the country exactly who she thinks she’s talking to, and who she thinks she’s above.”
A Culture of Excuses, A Poverty of Sincerity
From ministers to micro-influencers, everyone today follows the same crisis playbook:
- Deny responsibility.
- Blame technology.
- Attack the critics.
- Post a smiling photo with schoolchildren.
It’s the performance of virtue, without the substance of it. What makes Mahua Moitra’s case more grating is the intellectual entitlement behind it. She doesn’t merely speak for her party, she speaks for a class that sees self-critique as betrayal. The Left once prided itself on moral clarity. Now it hides behind moral vocabulary.
The Last Word: Sorry, Country
Let’s accept, for argument’s sake, that it was a genuine mistake. Even then, the reaction should have been instinctive: regret, not ridicule. But what she delivered instead was a sneer at the very idea of public scrutiny. Mahua Moitra didn’t apologise to trolls. She mocked the people who expected better of her.
And that’s the tragedy of India’s English-speaking elite today: they believe every criticism is trolling, every question is harassment, and every lapse is someone else’s fault. In that sense, her two words. “Sorry trolls” – were not just an end note. They were a confession. Not of guilt, but of who she really speaks to. and who she thinks she’s above.
