NEW DELHI: Congress has said that former Twitter boss Jack Dorseyโs claim about censorship pressure in India underscores the deep-rooted fear within the BJP government and alleged that Rahul Gandhi has been a prime victim of the Centreโs pressure tactics to silence the opposition.
Addressing a press conference regarding Dorseyโs claim that Twitter was pressurized to censor farmers and journalists critical of the Modi government during the farmersโ protest, Congress spokesperson Supriya Srinate launched a direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him a โcoward.โ
เคคเคพเคจเคพเคถเคพเคน เคเคพ เค เคธเคฒเฅ เคเฅเคนเคฐเคพ
โ Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) June 13, 2023
In an interview, the former Twitter CEO stated, โIndia, for example, is a country that had many requests from us regarding the farmersโ protest, particularly journalists critical of the government.โ
ALSO READ: โOutright lieโ: India slams ex-Twitter boss for farmer stir censorship claim
He added, โAnd it manifested in ways such as โwe will shut Twitter down in India,โ which is a very large market for us. โWe will raid the homes of your employeesโ, which they did. โWe will shut down your offices if you donโt follow suitโ. And this is India, a democratic country.โ
The government has dismissed his claims, stating that they were made to deflect attention from the arbitrary shadow ban imposed by Twitter employees on certain voices during the Dorsey regime.
Reacting to his claims, Srinate said that Dorseyโs claims hold truth because Twitter offices were raided by central agencies on May 24 after the social media company flagged โfake newsโ tweeted by BJP leaders as โmanipulated media.โ
Twitter Adds โManipulated Mediaโ Warning to BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patraโs โToolkitโ Tweet#ManipulatedPatra pic.twitter.com/uWm3IMV2G6
โ RaGa 2024 (@Nsuiishudhawan) May 21, 2021
โThis interview shows how democracy is being murdered in the murder of democracy. When farmers โ who were braving the heat and rain โ were being called anarchists, Pakistanis, Khalistanis, and terrorists, platforms like Twitter were told that if they show the farmersโ protest, they will be raided and their shops will be shut down,โ she said.
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โIt also proves that Rahul Gandhiโs Twitter account was blocked in August 2021 at the behest of the government. For six months, the follower count of his account did not grow. But when The Wall Street Journal broke a story and a letter was written to Twitter, his followers started growing rapidly again,โ Srinate said, referring to it as an incident of shadow ban.
She continued, โFear runs deep in this government. They donโt want any platform or media organization to show the truth. Because if the truth comes out, their massive propaganda will come crashing down.โ
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, considered close to Rahul Gandhi, said that the entire government machinery was complicit in restricting the opposition voice.
โThat is why they banned Rahul Gandhiโs Twitter account. Where is the freedom of expression, freedom of the media? We will raise this issue not only in Parliament but also throughout the country,โ he announced.
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