- Rahul Gandhi of India said that Twitter is playing partisan politics.
- His criticism of Twitter comes as the US microblogging giant is trying to resolve compliance concerns raised by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- After Gandhi posted a photo of himself and the parents of a girl who was allegedly raped and killed in New Delhi on August 1, his account was locked.
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India’s main opposition party, blasted Twitter on Friday for blocking a tweet suspected of raping and murdering a 9-year-old girl, saying that the platform was playing partisan politics.
The Congress Party criticizes the US microblogging giant as Twitter is trying to address the regulatory concerns raised by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gandhi’s account with 19.5 million followers was locked after he posted a photo of himself and the parents of a girl who was allegedly raped and killed in New Delhi on August 1, stating that the family deserves justice.
Indian law prohibits the disclosure of the identity of victims of sexual assault, and the National Committee for the Protection of Children’s Rights issued a notice to Twitter requesting its removal.
However, Gandhi said in a video released to reporters that Twitter shutting down him was interfering in politics and fell into the hands of the Modi government, which strongly opposed Gandhi.
“This is an attack on the democratic structure of the country. It is now clear that Twitter is not actually a neutral and objective platform. It is something that listens to what the current government says.”
Although Gandhi’s account was still running and all his tweets were visible before August 6, the platform hid his posts about the girl and prevented him from further tweets, waiting for him to delete the tweets.
The accounts of several other congressional leaders were also locked for posting this photo on Twitter.
A Twitter spokesperson stated that the platform’s rules were “implemented wisely and fairly.”
The spokesperson said in an email: “We have taken proactive action on hundreds of tweets that post images that violate our rules, and may continue to do so based on our law enforcement options.”
“Our goal is always to protect personal privacy and safety.”
Congress spokesperson Vineet Punia declined to comment on whether Gandhi planned to delete tweets about the girl.
After the attack, the police detained four people, which sparked widespread anger and protests in the capital. This is the latest case of violence against women in the country.