JOIN USBJP's toolkit: Misuse of govt power
The ‘Congress toolkit’ controversy that broke into the public realm some days ago has assumed many dimensions, raising serious questions about the conduct of the central government, Delhi Police and some BJP leaders and Union ministers. The government has issued a notice to the microblogging platform Twitter demanding that it remove the label “manipulated media” from certain posts shared by some BJP leaders and ministers. Delhi Police visited Twitter offices in Delhi and Gurgaon to deliver the notice in person. The case originated with a tweet from BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on May 18, which was shared by ministers and others. It had screenshots of what was called a "Congress toolkit" purportedly aimed at discrediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Congress wrote to Twitter saying the alleged toolkit was fake and forged letterheads had been used in the screenshots.
When Twitter concluded, after an internal investigation, using technology and independent third-party expertise, that the ‘toolkit’ was forged, it marked the BJP leaders’ posts as manipulated, as it does in such cases. The government should have had nothing to do with this. But it used it to intimidate the social media, as in the past, just as Delhi Police had arrested those who had pasted posters on the city’s walls criticising Modi. This must also be seen in conjunction with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s advice to diplomats on how to counter anti-Modi articles in foreign media. It is not just that criticism is not welcome. Even suggestions are not, as seen by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan’s nasty letter to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had written to Modi on how to combat the pandemic.
There are other important aspects to the case. One is that the government has no legal standing or right to question Twitter on its handling of posts by BJP leaders and ministers. Twitter acted true to its professional and business ethics because it has a right and duty to red-flag fabricated content. The government should not be supporting BJP leaders in their partisan political battles using wrong and unfair means. It also used Delhi Police in these political exercises. Ironically, Delhi Police issued notices to Congress leaders who are the aggrieved party in the case. All this is particularly wrong and repugnant and would be an embarrassment for the Government of India if the charge of forgery against the BJP leaders were to be found correct in an independent investigation, although there is no expectation of such an investigation by Delhi Police. The government's actions in the matter are partisan and authoritarian, and the BJP leaders’ conduct dubious.