Twitter Suspends Rahul Gandhi’s Account, Five More Congress Handles Locked, Opposition Says Silencing Voice Of Democracy

Twitter handles of Rahul Gandhi and some Congress leaders have been locked by the micro-blogging site. Twitter said the accounts were locked for posting an image that it said violated its rules and the action was to protect individuals' privacy and safety. The accounts have been locked for posting pictures of the family of the nine-year-old Dalit rape and murder victim last week in the national capital. Congress party's official Twitter account has also been blocked. Accounts of AICC general secretary and former minister Ajay Maken, Manickam Tagore, Assam in-charge and former Union minister Jitendra Singh, Randeep Surjewala and Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev have been locked, the party said. A Twitter spokesperson told PTI that the company's rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone in its service. The Congress has accused Twitter of acting against Gandhi's account under pressure from the government. Karti P Chidambaram said, “Twitter needs to sort out its policy”. TMC’s Derek O’Brien said, “What’s going on Twitter?” Congress leader Milind Deora said, “By submitting to GOI pressure, Twitter has severely dented its credibility as a neutral platform.” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who heads the parliamentary IT panel, said he is "actively engaged with Twitter" to restore all accounts. Watch the video to know more.