YSRCP MPs met Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav to accuse the Andhra government of suppressing criticism on social media. He demanded an independent investigation into the alleged misuse of the IT Act, under which posts of many people, including the opposition and journalists, were removed.
New Delhi [भारत]July 21 (ANI): A delegation of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MPs led by YV Subba Reddy met Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnav at Parliament House on Tuesday. According to the release, the delegation urged the Center to order an independent inquiry into the alleged misuse of legal provisions to suppress social media content critical of the Andhra Pradesh government.
The delegation submitted a detailed memorandum to Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, demanding an inquiry into whether due process under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, were followed in the legal requests allegedly made to remove social media content.
Allegations of action against more than 770 posts and 150 accounts
The MPs said Andhra Pradesh CID had allegedly sent legal requests to X (formerly Twitter) to take action against content posted by opposition leaders, journalists, political activists and common citizens. According to the memo, these requests included more than 770 social media posts from more than 150 X accounts.
attack on freedom of expression
The delegation said that the accounts that were allegedly targeted included those of opposition leaders, journalists, political activists and many ordinary citizens. He said that if these allegations are found to be true, they raise serious constitutional concerns related to the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a), the potential abuse of criminal law, the ill effects it could have on democratic debate, and the need for greater transparency and accountability in government requests made to intermediary platforms.
YSRCP MPs urged the Central government to conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the content removal requests, verify whether all statutory procedures laid down under the Information Technology Act and IT Rules, 2021, were strictly followed, ensure that legal powers are not selectively used against opposition leaders or citizens, and strengthen transparency and accountability in government requests made to social media platforms.
The delegation said that democratic institutions must protect the constitutional right to freedom of expression and ensure that the legal mechanism is not misused to silence dissent or target the political opposition. (ANI)
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