India's Main Opposition Party Congress Says Its Twitter Account Has Been Blocked

Five days ago, the Twitter account of key Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was suspended after India's child rights agency, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, complained that he'd violated the law by posting a picture of the family of a young Dalit girl who was allegedly raped and murdered in Delhi last week.

India’s main opposition party Congress on Thursday claimed that its official Twitter account has been blocked by the microblogging site, sharing a screenshot of its profile on Facebook and Instagram.

In a message posted in Hindi, the party said: "We were not scared when our leaders were put in jails, then why'd we be afraid when our Twitter accounts have now been locked? We are the Congress... we will fight, [we will] continue to fight.”

“If raising a voice for justice for a rape victim is a crime, we will commit such crime 100 times. Hail India… Truth Shall Prevail,” the message further read.

In an Instagram post, the party blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the suspension.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Congress (@incindia)

Apart from this, the Twitter accounts of several prominent Congress politicians have also been frozen for “violating rules against posting private information”.

These leaders include Congress national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, and Telangana state's party leader Manickam Tagore along with two other key members: Ajay Maken, and Sushmita Dev.

In each case, the content was found in breach of Twitter rules, and the user was asked to appeal in case he/she thought it was incorrectly blocked.

Clarifying its position regarding the blocking of the accounts of the Congress party and several party leaders, a Twitter spokesperson said the company’s rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone on its service.

“We have taken proactive action on several hundred tweets that posted an image that violated our rules, and may continue to do so in line with our range of enforcement options. Certain types of private information carry higher risks than others, and our aim is always to protect individuals’ privacy and safety. We strongly encourage everyone on the service to familiarise themselves with the Twitter Rules and report anything they believe is in violation,” the spokesperson added.

Other Congress leaders have reacted sharply to Twitter's move.

First Rahul Gandhi ji's account,
Then Congress Workers account,
Then Congress Leaders account,
& Now official account of @INCIndia

Twitter is openly batting as a frontal organization of BJP.

Are we still living in India or North Korea? pic.twitter.com/dUDCroVV7r

— Srinivas B V (@srinivasiyc) August 12, 2021

I hope the world is watching how @Twitter is working hand in glove with those who want to put an end to democracy in India .
One policy for Western countries and another for helping fascists in India ?
We know the BJP govt has been harassing @TwitterIndia but giving up so easily?

— Pankhuri Pathak पंखुड़ी पाठक پنکھڑی (@pankhuripathak) August 12, 2021

Breaking: Now, Congress’ official handle @INCIndia LOCKED by Twitter. pic.twitter.com/LBAaduWbV1

— Prashant Kumar (@scribe_prashant) August 12, 2021

It is 5 days since @RahulGandhi had been silenced on @twitter. Of course, he will find other ways to communicate but this is very disturbing. He met parents of a child who was brutally raped and murdered. Has the world gone mad or is a weak PM running scared?

— Salman Anees Soz (@SalmanSoz) August 11, 2021

Just a few days ago, the account of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was also suspended, after he'd posted an image showing a Dalit couple mourning the death of their nine-year-old daughter, who was allegedly raped and murdered in the capital last week.