Congress cries foul over Meira Kumar's blocked Facebook page

Congress on Thursday accused Facebook of “stifling” the voice of the Opposition as the social networking platform blocked the account of former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

Kumar, who was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2009-14, posted screenshots of her Facebook page claiming that it was blocked by the website.

“Facebook page BLOCKED! Crushing the voice of opposition- an assault on democracy. It cannot be just a mere coincidence that just before the Bihar Elections Facebook chooses to block my page,” the senior Congress leader said.

Kumar, the tallest Congress leader in Bihar, is a star campaigner of the party for the upcoming elections.

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Senior Congress leader backed Kumar, accusing Facebook’s India office of being subservient to the agenda of the Modi government.

“We witnessed as to how Facebook India leadership was compromised by Modi Govt as subservient to its agenda. Now blocking the account of Former Speaker & a leading light of Congress proves that petty tactics are being used to stifle the voice of Opposition leaders,” AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

Congress leader K C Venugopal had written two letters to the Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg seeking action against its India team, accusing it of turning a blind eye to instances of hate speech by BJP leaders shared on the social networking platform.

The issue was taken up by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, where Facebook had assured the members that the social media platform for non-partisan.