Days after Twitter blocked his account and several other party leaders, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that the microblogging site is a “biased platform” and follows the government’s directions.
In a video statement, the Congress leader questioned if India would let a company define the politics of the country. “A company is making its business to define our politics and as a politician, I don’t like that. This is an attack on the democratic structure of the country. This is not an attack on Rahul Gandhi, this is not simply shutting Rahul Gandhi down,” the Member of Parliament from Kerala’s Wayanad said.
Gandhi claimed that taking sides in a political context will have repercussions for Twitter, as it will breach the idea that the microblogging site is a neutral platform. “I have 19-20 million followers, and you are denying them the right to an opinion. It’s not only patently unfair but also breaching the idea that Twitter is a neutral platform. For investors, it’s a very dangerous thing. Taking sides in a political context has repercussions for Twitter,” he stated.
He further claimed that the democracy of the country is under attack and alleged that the Opposition is not allowed to speak in Parliament. “We are not allowed to speak in Parliament. The media is controlled and I thought there was a ray of light where we could put what we thought on Twitter. But obviously, that’s not the case. It’s obviously not a neutral objective platform. It’s a biased platform and it listens to what the government of the day says. As Indians, we have to ask the question that are we going to allow the companies just because they are beholden to the Government of India. Is that what’s we have come to, or are we going to define our politics on our own? That’s the question,” he added.
On Thursday, clarifying its position regarding blocking accounts of Congress party and several of its leaders, Twitter said its rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone on its service. In a statement, a Twitter spokesperson said the microblogging site it will continue to take proactive action if its rules are violated.
“The Twitter Rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone on our service.