A day after social media giant Twitter temporarily blocked former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s account allegedly following complaints from the NCPCR, the party on Sunday condemned the platform’s “double standards”.
Twitter had also removed one of Mr. Gandhi’s tweets of a photograph of the parents of a nine-year-old girl, who was raped and brutally murdered in the national capital, after he met the victim’s family last Wednesday.
Under Indian law, revealing the identities of sexual assault victims or their families is prohibited and may be taken as a violation of Twitter’s policy in India. On Wednesday, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had asked the micro blogging site as well as Delhi Police to take action against Mr. Gandhi.
However, Congress leaders claimed that similar photographs, revealing the identity of the parents, were shared by members of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
Why was Mr. Gandhi being singled out, the Congress asked.
“See the double standard! @TwitterIndia how fearful are you of the Modi govt that you are singling out Shri @RahulGandhi's account, when Govt bodies have done the exact same thing,” Congress general secretary (Organization) K.C. Venugopal asked on twitter.
Other party leaders like Randeep Surjewala, Ajay Maken, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh not only posted similar messages but some of them shared the screenshot of the same photograph that was posted by Mr Gandhi with the hash tag # Main Bhi Rahul [I am also Rahul].
Meanwhile, women members of the Congress like Ragini Nayak, Alka Lamba, Amrita Dhawan and Supriya Shrinate held a joint press conference to question the silence of the top leadership including the Prime Minister and the Home Minister over the crime.
They also accused the government of trying to suppress the issue with “strong arm tactics”, especially after Mr. Gandhi visited the victim's parents.
“This horrific incident took place barely 24 kms away from the Prime Minister’s residence. But even after eight days, [Narendra] Modi ji has not said a word. The Home Minister, under whom Delhi Police functions, hasn't uttered a word,” Ms Shrinate said.
“Is standing by the victim and the family a crime in India now? If that's the case, Rahul Gandhi ji and all of us will do this again and again to ensure justice,” she added.
