New Delhi: The Indian National Congress said on Thursday that Twitter has locked the party’s official account, as well as, accounts of 5,000 of its leaders and workers as “selective” action for sharing a photograph of the family of a nine-year-old rape victim, reported NDTV.
The Opposition party posted on Instagram a screenshot of the Congress’ account and a message from Twitter saying that the account has been locked because it violated Twitter rules regarding publishing other people’s private information without authorisation.
In the caption, the Congress party wrote, “Modi Ji, just how afraid are you? Reminder: The Congress party fought for our nation’s independence, equipped only with truth, non-violence & the will of the people.”
Congress leaders, however, have accused the BJP government of intimidating the company, stating that similar images tweeted by BJP leaders have not been penalised.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, head of the parliamentary IT panel, stated that he is actively working with Twitter to restore all accounts. He also accused BJP of trying to undermine the opposition.
Tharoor added that Twitter was acting according to policy but policies have room for review and further stated that immediately locking accounts is an “extreme” step and it stifles freedom of expression. He said that such swift actions should be taken against the perpetrators of the horrible crime and not Mr Gandhi.
The previous week, when Congress’ account was still operational, it tweeted that Twitter had taken no action against other accounts that had tweeted the picture of the Dalit girl’s family. Web Desk
