Govt Issues Notice To Twitter Over Leh Geo-Tagging Error, Micro-Blogging Site Responds

Ministry of Electronics & IT issued notice to Twitter for showing Leh as part of J&K instead of Union Territory of Ladakh.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: Micro-blogging website Twitter has been asked by the central government to respond within five days after the website showed Leh part of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir instead of showing it as the part of the newly for UT of Ladakh.  Ministry of Electronics & IT issued notice to Twitter for showing Leh as part of J&K instead of Union Territory of Ladakh. The notice directed Twitter to explain in 5 days as to why legal action shouldn't be taken against them for disrespecting India's territorial integrity. The notice has been sent to Twitter's global vice-president by the director of India's National Cyber Coordination Centre. Meanwhile, Twitter has responded to the Centre's notice and said that the micro-blogging site is committed to  partnering with Govt of India & Ministry of Electronics & IT to serve the public conversation. "Duly responded to the letter & as part of our correspondence, shared a comprehensive update with latest developments regarding geo-tag issue," news agency ANI quoted Twitter spokesperson as saying. This comes after Twitter tendered a verbal apology before India's joint parliamentary committee in October, for showing Leh and Jammu and Kashmir as part of China. After which the error was rectified, but the map is yet to be corrected to show Leh as part of the Union Territory of Ladakh. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had written a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on October 22, reminding him that Leh is the headquarter of Ladakh and that both Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir are "integral and inalienable parts of India, governed by the Constitution of India". In his letter, Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, asked Twitter to respect the sensitivities of Indian citizens. He warned that the attempt to disrespect the sovereignty and integrity of India, which is also reflected by the maps, is totally unacceptable and unlawful. After Article 370 was abrogated in August 2019, Ladakh which was earlier part of Jammu and Kashmir was separated from the states and both the regions were made Union Territories. After the separation of the UTs, Leh was made the capital of Ladakh.