Murder of democracy: Congress slams govt over X's statement

February 22, 2024 14:02

The Congress alleged on Thursday that democracy is being "murdered" in the country, after microblogging platform X voiced disagreement with the BJP-led Centre's order to block accounts and posts related to ongoing farmers' protests.

X also called for extending freedom of expression to the affected posts. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has ordered social media platforms to temporarily block 177 accounts linked to the farmers' protests on the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), according to sources.

Tagging a statement issued by X's Global Government Affairs team, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Murder Of Democracy in India."

In its statement, the microblogging platform said: "The Indian government has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties, including significant fines and imprisonment. In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts."

It said a writ appeal challenging the government's blocking orders remains pending and called for making the order public to enhance transparency.

"Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders, but we believe that making them public is essential for transparency. This lack of disclosure can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making," X said.

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