SOCIAL media giant Twitter on Saturday (14) restored the handle of former Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a week after temporarily suspending it saying he flouted its rules by sharing pictures of the family of a nine-year-old girl who was allegedly gangraped and murdered in Delhi.
Sources said the accounts of some of the other leaders of the party who had shared the same pictures were also restored.
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“Rahul Gandhi's Twitter account has been unlocked,” a Congress party functionary said, adding that accounts of some of the other leaders have also been restored.
Activists of Student Federation of India (SFI) and All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) hold placards during a protest against the alleged rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl, in New Delhi on August 4, 2021. (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images)
On Friday (13), Gandhi slammed Twitter accusing it of interfering in the national political process and alleged that shutting down his Twitter handle was nothing but an attack on the country’s domestic structure. In a YouTube video statement titled ‘Twitter’s dangerous game’, the 51-year-old leader said the platform was not neutral and was beholden to the government.
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“It’s obvious now that Twitter is actually not a neutral, objective platform. It is a biased platform. It's something that listens to what the government of the day says,” he said.
Child rights body summons Facebook officials
Meanwhile, India’s apex child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) summoned Facebook officials for not responding to its notice flagging Gandhi’s Instagram post allegedly revealing the identity of the alleged rape victim.
The latest NCPCR communication to Facebook, which owns Instagram, follows its notice seeking action against Gandhi’s profile for sharing the affected family’s picture. The commission said in a follow-up letter the social media platform took no action and now has asked its officials to appear at 5 pm Indian Standard Time on Tuesday (17) either in person at the NCPCR office or through video-conferencing, along with the details of the action taken.
Earlier, the NCPCR had asked Facebook to take appropriate action against Gandhi’s Instagram profile over the alleged violation of provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and the Indian Penal Code, and demanded the removal of the video.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images