BJP, 'wider conservative ecosystem' not aligned to Facebook: Amit Malviya

BJP and the 'wider conservative ecosystem' is not aligned to Facebook as the latter removed 700 pages aligned to a nationalist narrative in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, claimed BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya on Sunday.

"It is ludicrous to suggest that the BJP and the wider conservative ecosystem is aligned to Facebook. In fact, the reverse is true. In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, Facebook removed 700 pages. Most of them were aligned to a nationalist narrative," Malviya told .

"The communities that they have taken down after that is also fairly large. There is no redressal whatsoever. Therefore to suggest that Facebook is aligned to BJP is absolutely untrue," he added.

Malviya further slammed Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi for hate speech.

"As far as hate speech is concerned, Sonia Gandhi is at the forefront of it. Her divisive speech led to widescale rioting, death and destruction in Delhi. If Facebook has to address hate speech, they have to start with Sonia Gandhi," he said.

"What constitutes hate speech or does not is decided by India's constitutional framework and extant rules and not the Congress," he added.

He attacked the Congress and the Left parties for espousing an 'incoherent narrative' in the face of wng popular support.

"The Left continues to believe that they have the exclusive right to shape public discourse. But they have not realised that their popular support has slipped away. People today have opinions and they express it on social media," he said.

"This kind of rhetoric using friendly media to plant stories and try and build an incoherent narrative is not going to help the Congress party because they are struggling with a discredited leadership and wng popular support," he added.

Earlier on Sunday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the BJP and the RSS control Facebook and Whatsapp in the country.

The Congress MP also alleged that they spread fake news and hatred through these social media platforms to influence the electorate.

"BJP & RSS control Facebook & Whatsapp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook," Rahul Gandhi tweeted citing a media report.

( With inputs from ANI )