A miffed Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday dismissed reports regarding the deposition of Twitter officials before a parliamentary panel as “personal/political agenda” of some individuals.
Tharoor, the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, slammed the “double standards” of “some MPs” to ensure that their version of what transpired in the panel meeting was widely reported.
“One cannot prevent politicians from pursuing political goals, even though the double standards involved are reprehensible. But this is a cautionary message to newspaper readers not to take media accounts as the complete truth. They reflect what some MPs want you to believe,” Tharoor said.
Tharoor was referring to reports about Twitter officials being told by the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology to follow Indian laws. The committee wondered why the company should not be fined for failure to do so.
Twitter has partially complied with the new Digital Media Guidelines that make it mandatory for social media companies to name Chief Grievance Redressal Officer, compliance officer to deal with issues raised by their users.
Tharoor said Parliamentary Committee rules make it clear that proceedings are confidential and not to be shared with the press.
“Yet some MPs (who are quick to protest if the Chairman even confirms an agenda item on @Twitter) are quick to ensure their version of events is widely reported,” he said.
“Until Parliament amends its rules and permits authorised briefings, or better still emulates other democracies & permits Committee meetings to be televised, you should all assume that what you read/hear about such matters is someone’s personal/political agenda on display,” Tharoor said.
(Published 19 June 2021, 11:51 IST)
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