Ousted BC Green deputy leader responds after X post controversy

Dr. Sanjiv Gandhi, who was removed as the BC Green Party’s deputy leader after a questionable social media post was liked in September, is giving his side, saying he never intended to engage with the inappropriate post.

In a statement Thursday, Gandhi says he “inadvertently” engaged with the inappropriate tweet when he was trying to “like” another post.

“An individual I follow on X (formerly Twitter) posted a letter and comments, including an impassioned critique of healthcare delivery in BC. Intending to ‘like’ that post, I inadvertently ‘liked’ the post of a third party whom I do not follow, quoting the original tweet,” he said in the statement.

“That third party’s post appeared in my Twitter feed because he included my handle in his quote tweet, and, regrettably, he made an extremely inappropriate reference to the Provincial Health Officer. I did not realize my error until yesterday. We can be passionate and aggressive in criticizing the government, but personal attacks are categorically wrong, as was my misplaced ‘like.'”

Gandhi says when he realized his “mistake,” he “unliked that third-party tweet,” noting he never indended to offend anyone.

“As the subject of considerable racism in my own life, I know that words matter, and I do not condone the belittling or demonization of any group of people for any reason, including those based on race or religion. I am so sorry for the harm I have caused,” his statement continued.

“After speaking with the leader of the BC Green Party, I agreed the best course of action would be to step back from my role with the BC Greens and resign my candidacy in the next provincial election.”

BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau announced Wednesday that she had removed Gandhi as deputy leader, citing the “liking” of the tweet, which she says compared B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry to Josef Mengele, a Nazi doctor often referred to as the ‘Angel of Death’ who performed deadly experiments on Jewish prisoners in concentration camps during World War II.

At the time, she said she found this “unacceptable” and that she had accepted Gandhi’s resignation as a BC Green Party candidate.

His profile was removed from the BC Green Party website within an hour after Furstenau’s post.

Gandhi, a former chief of Pediatric Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at BC Children’s Hospital, says he hopes to find another way to address challenges in the health-care system, now that he will not be running in the next provincial election.

“I had hoped to engage in a meaningful, respectful discussion during the provincial election campaign, but I recognize that my mistake and others capitalizing on that mistake will be an unavoidable distraction, making that impossible. Our political system, unfortunately, often impedes reasonable discourse and problem-solving,” he said.

“Our healthcare system is broken, the public health strategy is failing, and this government consistently fails to recognize that. I hope that message, and not my blunder on Twitter, a viper pit of vitriol, encourages others to continue to demand more for British Columbians.”

-With files from James Paracy