Indian Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi accused Twitter of working under pressure from the Modi government to limit his Twitter activities. Rahul Gandhi made the accusations in a letter written to Twitter CEO Parag Aggarwal.
In the letter, Rahul Gandhi stated that his Twitter growth came to an abrupt halt for several months following an eight-day suspension in August last year. He also shared an analysis of data from his Twitter account to back his claims.
Prior to the suspension, Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account gained an average of 400,000 new users a month in the first seven months of 2021. However, after the suspension, users decreased to less than 2500 monthly from September to December.
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As a result, Rahul Gandhi made claims of a government campaign to suppress his reach on the platform. He also questioned, “Twitter’s unwitting complicity in curbing free and fair speech in India.”
“I want to bring your attention to what I believe is Twitter’s unwitting complicity in curbing free and fair speech in India… I have been reliably, albeit discreetly, informed by people at Twitter India that they are under immense pressure by the government to silence my voice,” Gandhi wrote in his letter to Twitter CEO, as reported by Indian media.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal on 27th December 2021, stating that "it is perplexing that the growth in my Twitter followers has suddenly been suppressed." pic.twitter.com/xhbT1UWxXh
— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2022
Twitter targetting Rahul Gandhi?
He also pointed out how there were government accounts tweeting out photos similar to the ones Gandhi’s Twitter account received a suspension for. However, none of the accounts received restrictions.
“My account was singularly targeted,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“I am writing to you on behalf of more than a billion Indians to not allow Twitter to become a pawn in the destruction of the idea of India,” Rahul Gandhi further added.
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Important to note, Rahul Gandhi, is a prominent leader of the opposing party Congress. He is also very critical of the Modi government.
Last year, he tweeted a photograph and a video with the parents of a nine-year-old Dalit girl who died after being allegedly raped in Delhi. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched an attack against him for being “insensitive”. BJP also accused Rahul of attempting to “gain political mileage”.
As a result, Twitter subsequently blocked the post in India. Twitter also temporarily suspended Rahul Gandhi from accessing his account.
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Generally, once Twitter takes down a post for “violation of rules, the account owner cannot tweet for 24 hours.