40 Congress legislators, 10 ministers get an earful for not using social media

Ten ministers and 40 legislators of the ruling Congress came under severe criticism by the party leadership for not using social media platforms to promote the state government’s achievements.

AICC general secretary in-charge of Bengaluru district K C Venugopal, who held marathon meetings on Friday to review preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections, lamented that only a handful of leaders were using Facebook and Twitter effectively.

The KPCC gave him a list of those who had turned a blind eye to social media platforms.

“There are 10 ministers and 40 MLAs who are not using social media. They have been directed to open Facebook and Twitter accounts immediately,” KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao told reporters. “They are to use social media platforms to discuss progress in their departments and districts, and also comment on political developments,” he said.

Venugopal is said to have taken Kannada and Culture Minister Umashree to task. “Being the culture minister, you don’t have any presence either on Facebook or Twitter,” he told her during a meeting.

Venugopal pointed out that the AICC had issued a circular recently mandating leaders to open social media accounts. Besides Umashree, ministers and MLAs hailing from north Karnataka were noted for their absence on social media. Some of them include Muzrai Minister Rudrappa Lamani, Excise Minister R B Timmapur and Hangal MLA Manohar Tahasildar.

Apparently, some leaders said that they did not know how to use social media platforms and that they were uncomfortable with technology. Venugopal asked them to hire assistants who can handle social media accounts on their behalf.

The state Congress wants to make the most of social media, which became a key tool for the BJP to sweep the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In August, the party launched INC Karnataka Digital, a platform to rope in digital volunteers to strengthen its cyberspace presence. It was only recently that KPCC president G Parameshwara and Youth Empowerment and Sports Minister Pramod Madhwaraj opened their Twitter accounts.