Cong writes to Facebook over its quid pro quo deal with BJP

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack against the Centre over the BJP’s alleged links with Facebook and WhatsApp.

“America’s Time magazine exposes WhatsAppBJP nexus: Used by 40 Cr Indians, WhatsApp also wants to be used for making payments for which Modi Govt’s approval is needed. Thus, BJP has a hold over WhatsApp,” he tweeted. The article said Facebook failed to check hate speech, including some comments by BJP leaders that violated their protocols.

Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal has once again written a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, demanding a probe into the alleged “bias” and interference of the social media giant’s India leadership team in the country’s electoral democracy.

The BJP took a swipe at the Opposition party saying any organisation that does not work to its liking is accused of acting under BJP-RSS pressure.

The Congress leader said that the party is “compelled to write again in a short span of time because of further information and revelations made public” through a new article in a media publication, which makes “three points that are alarming and violate both the spirit and the law of operations of foreign companies in India”.

Mr Venugopal, citing the article in his letter, claimed the BJP was allowed to exercise control over WhatsApp’s India operations in return for a possible licence for its payment operations, which is critical for the future of the messaging app.

A massive political row broke out after a recent report by the Wall Street Journal alleged that senior FB executives had opposed applying hate speech rules to posts by certain BJP leaders.