TWITTER BLOCKS 52 TWEETS THAT WERE CRITICAL OF MODI GOVT’S HANDLING OF COVID CRISES

Mon 26 April 2021:

Complying with the request from the central government, Twitter has withheld access to at least 52 tweets in India. These tweets were critical of the way Modi government is handling the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic which has consumed thousands of lives in days.

The blocked tweets were posted by a minister of state, a member of opposition in Parliament, a minister from Pakistan, two journalists, two advocacy groups, filmmakers, an actor and several others. The news was first reported by Medianama, a tech policy website, on Saturday.

Twitter published the details of the request by the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology including links to the blocked tweets on Lumen database, a Harvard University-run research project that tracks such orders by governments around the world.

“When we receive a valid legal request, we review it under both the Twitter Rules and local law. If the content violates Twitter Rules, the content will be removed from the service,” a Twitter spokesperson was quoted by BuzzFeed News as having said. “If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only.”

The government cited the Information Technology Act, 2000 in its order to Twitter.
Thess tweets criticised the authorities for allegedly failing to handle the Covid-19 crises in a better way and called out the Modi government for its double standards in dealing with religious congregations.

A tweet from the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy group of Indian Muslims in the United States, is among the posts mentioned in the order. It shared a link and an image of a vice story that drew a comparison between the government’s response to last year’s Tablighi Jamaat congregation and the ongoing Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, where hundreds of thousands amidst the surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths across the country. Experts had warned the congregation could emerge as super spreader but even then the government adamantly allowed the devotees to gather.

Congress leader Pawan Khera’s tweet also pointed out the government’s varied response to The Tablighi Jamaat event and Kumbh Mela and asked, “Are we all becoming toys in the hands of the political ideology of the two penny ruling party.”

He is baffled by the government’s action against his tweet. “I see nothing in my tweet that merits such an action by the government. Why is the government curbing voices that bring uncomfortable facts to the fore?” Khera told Clarion India that he was taking the legal route to ask the government of India to tell him exactly what was illegal about his tweet.

A statement by IAMC shared with Clarion India said: “While hundreds of thousands of Covid patients are literally gasping for breath, the government’s alacrity in pressuring Twitter to block tweets critical of its handling of the crisis shows the administration’s moral compass continues to point in a direction that is shamelessly self-serving.”

Some of the tweets blocked were complaining about acute shortage of oxygen to hospitals, medicine and lack of beds. For instance, actor Vineet Kumar Singh, known for his role in Gangs of Wasseypur, had tweeted that he was not able to get tested for covid for five days or find Fabiflu, an antiviral medicine, in Banaras. “What should I give? Videos of your promise or your huge crowd rally?” the angry Kumar wrote. “Wake up, the common man is dying.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have come under huge criticism for organising election rallies and praising the large crowds that these rallies draw in West Bengal amidst a massive surge in number of Covid-19 cases and death. On Sunday, the country officially reported 3.49 lakh Fresh Covid-19 Cases and 2,767 Deaths, a new record high. The situation is aggravating every passing minute as the healthcare system has been pushed to near collapse.

Twitter has previously also complied with the requests of Indian government to censor criticism of the policies of the government. In January this year, the company temporarily blocked access to more than 250 accounts that posted tweets critical of the government’s handling of farm protests. The ban was withdrawn after the company argued that the tweets did not violate Indian law but the defiant move triggered a bitter back and forth. Later, the government came up with a strict policy for social media companies and digital news platforms which will further empower the authorities to order removal of critical content.