Twitter accounts of Congress, senior leaders suspended; blocked for violating rules, says microblogging site

New Delhi: The Twitter on Wednesday suspended the official accounts of the Congress and its senior leaders. The micro-blogging site's action comes close on the heels of temporary suspension of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Twitter account.

The Congress announced the news of the account suspension on Facebook. “When our leaders were locked up in jails, we were not afraid then, then how will we be afraid to close our Twitter account. We are Congress, this is the message of the people, we will fight, we will keep fighting.

If raising voice to get justice to rape victim child is a crime, then we will commit this crime hundred times. Jai Hind... Truth always wins,” the party wrote.

The Twitter accounts of AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, former minister Ajay Maken, party's whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore, Assam in-charge and former Union minister Jitendra Singh and Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev have been locked, reports said.

"So! After Shri @RahulGandhi, the Lord @narendramodi Ji and Vassal @Jack & @twitter have locked @rssurjewala, @ajaymaken & @sushmitadevinc. @INCIndia registers its protest and promises to continue the fight for each and all being wronged! We shall hold on @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji," tweeted AICC secretary in-charge of party's Communication Department.

"The list goes on. @Twitter locks @JitendraSAlwar and @manickamtagore and many more. Doesn't Modi Ji understand that we @INCindia'ns have a legacy of fighting even from behind the locks of kaala paani," he asked in another tweet.

"He thinks the virtual locks of Twitter will deter us from fighting for India,"he asked.

In each case, the Twitter has issued a notification that the content  posted on the disputed accounts were found to be violative of its rules.

The Congress has accused Twitter of acting against Gandhi's account under pressure from the government.

Gandhi had tweeted pictures with the family of a nine-year-old victim of alleged rape and murder in  Delhi last week.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) took cognizance of Gandhi's tweet and directed Twitter to act against the Congress leader's account for violating the privacy of a minor victim, mandated by the laws of the land.

Blocked for violating rules: Twitter

Twitter on Thursday reasoned blocking of several accounts of Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, for posting an image that it said violated its rules and the action was to protect individuals' privacy and safety.

Twitter handles of Gandhi and several Congress leaders have been locked by the US firm for posting pictures of the family of the nine-year-old Dalit rape and murder victim last week in the national capital.

The Congress party's official Twitter account has also been blocked.

When contacted, a Twitter spokesperson on Thursday said the company's rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone in its service.

"We have taken proactive action on several hundred Tweets that posted an image that violated our Rules and may continue to do so in line with our range of enforcement options. Certain types of private information carry higher risks than others, and our aim is always to protect individuals' privacy and safety," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that Twitter strongly encourages everyone on the service to familiarise themselves with the Twitter Rules and report anything they believe is in violation.

According to Twitter, if a tweet was found to be in violation of its rules and isn't deleted by the account holder, the microblogging platform hides it behind a notice and the account remains locked until the said tweet is removed or the appeal is successfully processed.

The US-based company said it was alerted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) about specific content on the platform that allegedly revealed the identity of an alleged sexual assault victim's (and a minor's) parents. The said content was reviewed against Twitter's rules and policies as well as the concerns expressed as a matter of Indian law.