Twitter interfering in India's political process, says Rahul Gandhi

FORMER Indian National Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday (13) lashed out at social media giant Twitter accusing it of being biased and interfering in India’s political process by blocking his account.

In a strong attack on the American social media platform, the 51-year-old Gandhi said Twitter was denying his millions of followers the right to an opinion and called it an attack on the country’s domestic structure. He also asked whether the people of India should allow companies just because they are beholden to the Narendra Modi government to define the country’s politics.

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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,” Gandhi alleged in a video message posted on social media.

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)

“By shutting down my Twitter they are interfering in our political process. A company is making its business to define our politics. And as a politician I don't like that,” he said.

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“This is an attack on the democratic structure of the country. This is not an attack on Rahul Gandhi. This is not you know simply shutting Rahul Gandhi down. I have 19-20 million followers. You are denying them the right to an opinion. That’s what you are doing,” the parliamentarian from the South Indian state of Kerala said.

As Indians, he asked, “We have to ask the question: are we going to allow companies just because they are beholden to the Government of India to define our politics for us. Is that what this is going to come to? Or are we going to define our politics on our own? That's the real question here,” the Congress leader said.

The Congress leader said that this is not only patently unfair but also breaching the idea that Twitter is a neutral platform. According to him, this is a dangerous thing for the investors since taking sides politically has repercussions for the social media giant.

“Our democracy is under attack. We are not allowed to speak in Parliament. The media is controlled. And I thought there was a ray of light where we could put what we thought on Twitter. But obviously, that's not the case,” he said.

Twitter, which has also been under the scanner of the Modi government over its alleged non-compliance with India’s new information technology rules, had temporarily suspended Gandhi’s account after he shared pictures of the family of a nine-year-old girl who was allegedly gang-raped and murdered in Delhi recently, saying it was against its rules.

Gandhi took to Instagram almost a week after his Twitter account got locked to speak out on the issue. He posted, “They can lock us out of a platform but they can't lock out our voice for the sake of the people. If showing compassion and empathy is a crime, then I am guilty. If fighting for a rape and murder victim is a crime, then I am guilty. The message of compassion, love and justice is universal. 1.3 billion Indians will not be silenced.”

Child rights body complains about Rahul to Facebook

However, the leader’s ordeal did not end there. India’s apex child rights body NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) asked Facebook to take action against Gandhi’s Instagram profile for posting the photo of the family of the girl. On August 4, the body wrote to Twitter seeking action against the Congress leader’s handle and the microblogging site obliged.

The commission has now written to Facebook saying it has come across a video posted by the politician on his Instagram profile wherein the identity of the victim’s family has been revealed. In this video the faces of the father and the mother of the deceased girl can be clearly seen, which is in violation of the prescribed provisions of law, it said.

The NCPCR asked Facebook, which owns Instagram, for taking appropriate action against Gandhi’s profile for violating 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 from the platform.

Last week, Gandhi last week met the family of the nine-year-old girl and asserted that he is with them on the path to justice and “will not back down even an inch”.