Toolkit: Congress writes to Twitter seeking manipulated media tag on tweets of 11 union ministers
New Delhi, May 25: The Congress on Tuesday demanded that Twitter affix manipulated media tag to tweets of several union ministers for allegedly spreading false and malicious propaganda against the party.
Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala wrote to Twitter's Lead for Legal, Policy and Trust and Safety Vijaya Gadde and its Deputy General Counsel and Vice President (Legal) Jim Baker, seeking stern action against 11 union ministers for allegedly spreading false and forged documents.
Surjewala has alleged that the "forged, fabricated material" and the claims made under the #CongressToolkitExposed by various ministers are identical to the material that has already been marked as 'manipulated media' by Twitter.
He alleged that the subject matter of the forged Toolkit document was created by certain BJP leaders to gain undue and wrongful political advantage by spreading potentially dangerous, false and fabricated material through their Twitter handles against the Indian National Congress and its leaders.
The union ministers against whom the Congress has sought action are Giriaj Singh, Piyush Goyal, Smriti Irani, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prahlad Joshi, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Thawarchand Gehlot, Harsh Vardhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Surjewala said, "It is a matter of fact that people tend to believe 'true' and take on face value, any information that is put up directly by a Union Minister of the Government of India through his/ her official/ verified Twitter account."
"Hence, it becomes all the more imperative to tag, 'manipulative media' (sic), on all such tweets made by Ministers of the Government of India on the above referred forged toolkit document created by the BJP," he said in his complaint.
"It is reasonable to expect that the aforementioned individuals will be dealt with the same yardstick as applied in other cases where the Twitter platform is misused to broadcast forged and fabricated material...," he also said.
This comes a day after Delhi Police's Special Cell sent a notice to Twitter India in connection with the probe into a complaint about the alleged 'COVID toolkit', asking it to share information based on which it had classified a related tweet by BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra as "manipulated media", with two police teams descending on the microblogging site's offices in Lado Sarai in Delhi and in Gurgaon on Monday evening.
Earlier, Twitter tagged tweets of BJP leaders Sambit Patra and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat as "manipulative media".
The Congress has accused BJP leaders, including union ministers, of misusing the Twitter platform to disseminate forged and fabricated material.
The Congress had earlier complained to Delhi police to register an FIR against BJP leaders for allegedly spreading "false" information about the Congress toolkit.
The NSUI has already registered an FIR against Raman Singh and Sambit Patra in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, where the Congress is in power.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
