Rahul Gandhi, leader of India's opposition Congress party, has criticized Twitter for blocking a tweet about a 9-year-old girl who was allegedly murdered after being raped, saying the platform was playing biased politics.
According to a report by the British news agency Reuters, the microblogging site has been criticized by the Congress at a time when Twitter is trying to resolve the objections raised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comply with the new rules.
Rahul Gandhi's Twitter account, which has 19.5 million followers, was locked on August 1 in New Delhi for sharing a photo with the parents of a girl allegedly murdered after being raped. The family should get justice.
It is believed that Indian law prohibits the identification of victims of sexual assault and the Indian National Commission for the Protection of Children had issued a notice to Twitter to remove the tweet.
However, Rahul Gandhi said in a video released to the journalist that by closing his account, Twitter is interfering in politics and Modi is playing into the hands of the government which is against Rahul Gandhi.
"This is an attack on the democratic structure of the country. Now it is clear that Twitter is not really a neutral platform, it listens to what the government says," he said.
Although Rahul Gandhi's account is still there and all his tweets are visible till August 6, the social media platform hid his post about the victim and prevented Rahul Gandhi from tweeting further until his tweet was deleted. Given
The accounts of several other Congress leaders were also locked after the photo was tweeted.
A Twitter spokesman said the platform's rules were "enforced fairly and impartially".
"We have actively responded to hundreds of tweets that have posted a picture that violates our laws and may continue to do so within the limits of our enforcement powers," the spokesman said in an email. ۔
"Our goal is always to protect the privacy of consumers," he said.
Congress spokesperson Vineet Poonia declined to comment on whether Rahul Gandhi intends to delete the tweet about the victim.
Police have detained four people since the attack, while protests are also taking place in New Delhi following the latest case of violence against women.
