House IT panel would wish to hear from FB, says Tharoor on Rahul Gandhi's allegations on BJP, RSS

Responding to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who shared media reports and alleged that BJP and the RSS control Facebook and Whatsapp in the country, party MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology would certainly wish to hear from Facebook about the media reports.

"The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology would certainly wish to hear from @Facebook about these reports & what they propose to do about hate-speech in India," Tharoor said in reply to Rahul Gandhi's tweet.

"Our Parliamentary committee will, in the normal course, consider testimony under the topic "Safeguarding citizens' rights & prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms". The subject is squarely within the IT Cmt's mandate & @Facebook has been summoned in the past," Tharoor said in another tweet.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the BJP and the RSS control Facebook and Whatsapp in the country.

The Wayanad 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.

Reacting to Rahul Gandhi's allegations, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Congress was caught red-handed colluding with Cambridge Analytica and Facebook for using data before elections and is now falsely accusing the BJP of doing the same.

Prasad said, "Losers who cannot influence people even in their own party keep cribbing that the entire world is controlled by the BJP and RSS. You were caught red-handed in alliance with Cambridge Analytica and Facebook to weaponise data before the elections and now have the gall to question us?"

"The fact is that today access to information and freedom of expression has been democratised. It is no longer controlled by retainers of your family and that is why it hurts. By the way, haven't yet heard your condemnation of the Bangalore riots. Where did your courage disappear?" Prasad added in a subsequent tweet.

Earlier in 2018, Prasad while addressing the Rajya Sabha in July 2018 had said, that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will investigate whether the British company Cambridge Analytica violated laws to mpulate the electoral process during the 2014 general elections.

In this case, data from the nation's electorates and Facebook users was allegedly compromised by London-based political consultant Cambridge Analytica.

( With inputs from ANI )