Twitter India Summoned By Parliamentary Panel For Alleged Bias Against 'Right-Wing' Accounts

New Delhi, February 5: A Parliamentary Panel, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anurag Thakur on Tuesday summoned Twitter India over allegations of bias against particular accounts supporting the right-wing ideology. The Twitter will present its case before the panel on February 11. The parliamentary committee on Information Technology will examine the issue and will hear views of the representatives of IT Ministry and Twitter on the subject 'Safeguarding citizens on social media platforms'. Thakur also tweeted regarding the agenda of the meeting. Jodhpur Court Orders FIR Against Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey For 'Anti-Brahmin' Post.

The panel summoned the Twitter India after Delhi-based advocate Ishkaran Singh Bhandari met Home Minister Rajnath Singh on January 28 and apprised him of the alleged "discriminatory and unfair practices" by Twitter, which he said were a "threat to national security". In his application, Bhandari alleged that Twitter was suspending accounts which either support "Indic ideals or the current government".  Twitter India Issues Statement After Jack Dorsey Triggers Outrage by Holding Sign That Says ‘Smash Brahminical Patriarchy’.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, members of the 'Youth for Social Media Democracy' also staged a protest outside the office of Twitter India in Delhi. The protesters alleged that the Twitter has acquired an anti-right-wing attitude. The agitated demonstrators insisted Twitter to change its policy. One of the protestors told ANI, "Twitter has acquired an anti-right wing attitude. They block our accounts and impressions of the tweets. We won't tolerate this; they will have to change their policy." The protestors claimed that the act of “selectively” authenticating Twitter handles of people with leftist propaganda has often led to spreading of fake news.

In December last year, a Jodhpur court ordered an FIR against Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for sharing a post in which he carried a poster reading "smash Brahmanical patriarchy". The petition was filed by vice president of Vipra Foundation's youth wing, Rajkumar Sharma, over the post by Dorsey. The photo was taken during Dorsey's recent trip to India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 05, 2019 08:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).