'Will Modi Govt Answer?': Congress After Jack Dorsey Said Indian Govt 'Pressurised' Twitter During Farmer Protest

Randeep Singh Surjewala sought a response from the PM Modi-led government over co-founder Jack Dorsey's claims and said whether the Modi government respond to the claims.  

Congress Leader Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Source : PTI

Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday sought a response from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government over co-founder Jack Dorsey's claims that the Indian government 'pressured' the micro-blogging platform to 'block' some accounts during farmer protest, saying whether the Modi government respond to the claims. “Modi Govt. forced twitter to: Shut down accounts of Farmers & Farmer’s movement, Shut down accounts of journalists critical of Govt, or Twitter and its employees would be raided. This is what Twitter Co Founder and Ex CEO Jack Dorsey admits in a TV interview. Will Modi Govt answer?” Surjewala said in a tweet.

Modi Govt. forced twitter to👇

▪️Shut down accounts of Farmers & Farmer’s movement,

▪️Shut down accounts of journalists critical of Govt,
OR
Twitter and its employees would be raided.

This is what Twitter Co Founder and Ex CEO Jack Dorsey admits in a TV… pic.twitter.com/OmpSHl8RlI

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) June 13, 2023

Uddhav Thackeray faction leader and MP Sanjay Raut also reacted on Jack Dorsey's claims and said that the claims made by the Twitter founder have made it clear now that the democracy of the country and freedom are under threat and how democracy is being strangulated behind the curtain.     

"I have seen how the democracy of the country and freedom are under threat and how democracy is being strangulated behind the curtain. This makes it clear", Sanjay Raut said, as quoted by the news agency ANI.

I have seen how the democracy of the country and freedom are under threat and how democracy is being strangulated behind the curtain. This makes it clear: Uddhav Thackeray faction leader and MP Sanjay Raut, on co-founder and former CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey's claim on ‘pressure’… pic.twitter.com/NtBWGJ1nDx

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2023

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait also reacted to Dorsey's claims and said that whatever he has said is correct. Tikait said that the Indian government must have made such attempts   

"We had information that the kind of reach on Facebook and Twitter that was expected on farmers' protest, was not coming. They used to try to stop it at their level. The Head (former CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey) has said this clearly now. But such companies don't come under anyone's pressure. Govt of India must have made such attempts...What he said is correct," Tikait told ANI.

#WATCH | On former CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey's claim on ‘pressure’ from India, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait says, "We had information that the kind of reach on Facebook and Twitter that was expected on farmers' protest, was not coming. They used to try to stop it at their level.… pic.twitter.com/JMUsoEak4S

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2023

Congress MP Manish Tewari said that what Dorsey has said is not surprising at all and since 2014 there has been a systematic erosion of the freedom of speech and expression and civil liberties in the country. 

"What Jack Dorsey has said is not surprising at all. In the past 9 years, after 2014, there has been a systematic erosion of the freedom of speech & expression and civil liberties in the country. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is not confined to the Central Govt alone. Certain state governments also have been equally draconian & authoritarian in the manner in which they seek to stifle dissent and try & proscribe alternative voices..," Manish Tewari said, as quoted by ANI.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said that there is no reason for Jack Dorsey to tell a lie that they threatened Twitter when the protests were going on. 

"First of all, I would like to know, why would Jack Dorsey make such a statement? Rajeev Chandrasekhar says that this is a lie. Why would he tell a lie? There is no reason for Jack Dorsey to tell a lie that they threatened Twitter when the protests were going on, that they would shut their offices & raid the then Twitter employees...There is every reason for others to tell a lie because they can't accept this...," Sibal said, as quoted by ANI.

Pointing out some 'Facts and truth' about Twitter, he said, "@twitter undr Dorsey n his team were in repeated n continuous violations of India law. As a matter of fact they were in non-compliance with law repeatedly from 2020 to 2022 and it was only June 2022 when they finally complied. No one went to jail nor was twitter "shutdown"."

"Dorseys Twitter regime had a problem accepting the sovereignty of Indian law. It behaved as if the laws of India did not apply to it. India as a sovereign nation has the right to ensure that its laws are followed by all companies operating in India. During the protests in January 2021, there was a lot of misinformation and even reports of genocide which were definitely fake," Chandrasekhar said.

Talking about the Indian government's role in all this. he said, "GoI was obligated to remove misinformation from the platform because it had the potential to further inflame the situation based on fake news."

"Such was the level of partisan behaviour on Twitter under Jack regime, that they had a problem removing misinformation from the platform in India, when they did it themselves when similar events took place in the USA. To set the record straight, no one was raided or sent to jail. Our focus was only on ensuring the compliance of Indian laws," the tweet further read.

"There is ample evidence now in public domain abt Jacks twitter's  arbitrary, blatantly partisan n discriminatory conduct and misuse of its power on its platform during that period. Twitter under Dorsey was not just violating Indian law, but was partisan in how it was using "deamplify" n deplatforming of some arbitrarily in violation of Art 14,19 of our constitution and also assisting in weaponising of misinformation.," the minister claimed.

He concluded, "Our govts policies remain clear for all Intermediaries operating in India - compliance with laws to ensure Internet is Safe&Trusted, Accountable."