The Congress party has come down heavily on the Narendra Modi-led central government over the claims made by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, alleging pressure from the Indian government on Twitter on several issues including the farmers’ protest.
Supriya Shrinate, the Congress party’s chairperson of social media & digital platforms, termed the allegations as a “murder of democracy” in the “mother of democracy”.
Also Read: ‘Outright Lie’: Centre slams Jack Dorsey’s claim that India threatened to shut down Twitter
“When farmers were agitating at the Delhi border for more than a year, braving winter, summer, and rain, they were being called ‘mawali, Khalistani, Pakistani & terrorists,’ and platforms like Twitter were being told that if they show farmers, they would be shut down in India and raided,” Shrinate said referring to the allegations at a press conference on Tuesday.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has claimed that India exerted significant pressure on the social media giant regarding various issues, including the farmers’ protest and critical journalists.
Shrinate further criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to him as an “authoritative” figure or dictator who remained silent while over 700 farmers lost their lives. She accused him of eventually repealing the three controversial farm laws for electoral benefits.
The controversy surrounding Twitter’s involvement in Indian affairs escalated in May 2022 when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the Congress party had circulated a fake toolkit. The toolkit was labelled as “manipulated media” or “misleading” media. The incident resulted in further scrutiny of social media platforms and their role in shaping public opinion.
Then, on May 24, 2021, Twitter’s offices in India were raided, and the homes of several employees were also searched. Shrinate claimed that these actions were orchestrated to suppress the farmers’ protest.
In a recent appearance on the YouTube show ‘Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar,’ Jack Dorsey shed light on the alleged pressure faced by Twitter in India. Dorsey claimed that the Indian government made numerous requests related to the farmers’ protest and journalists critical of the government. He disclosed that Twitter was threatened with shutdowns and raids if it did not comply.
“India had many requests of us around the farmers’ protest, around journalists who were critical of the government, and manifested in ways such as we were shut down in India, which is a very large market for us,” Dorsey stated. “Homes of a few employees were raided; we will shut down your offices if you don’t follow, and this is India—a democratic country.”
Dorsey expressed his dismay over India being compared to Turkey, an Islamic country, rather than being compared to the United States and other developed nations. He alleged that India and Turkey had requested to take down certain journalists’ accounts or provide their contact information for potential action.