By Asia Samachar | India |
Social media major X, formerly Twitter, has admitted to taking down accounts and posts related to the ongoing farmers’ protests in India, after receiving “executive orders” from the Indian government.
In an entry at its handle @GlobalAffairs, the giant communication 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.
“Consistent with our position, a writ appeal challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders remains pending. We have also provided the impacted users with notice of these actions in accordance with our policies.
“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.”
Haryana-based journalist Mandeep Punia told the BBC that his account and that of his news platform – Gaon Savera – have been withheld.
“We are professional journalists covering rural India. We are reporting from the ground and the government doesn’t want that. The government is blocking our voice, but equally this also affects our livelihood, our means of earning a living,” said Mandeep, who was arrested by Delhi Police during 2020–2021 Indian farmers’ protest.
Several farm unions in India have been on strike since 13 February seeking floor pricing, which is also called minimum support price, for their crops. The protesters have been attempting to march to India’s capital, Delhi, from the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
But the authorities have heavily barricaded the city borders with barbed wire and cement blocks to stop them. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh states, which are ruled by the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have deployed a large number of police and paramilitary troops to stop the farmers from reaching Delh, reported BBC.
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