Toolkit Controversy: Delhi Police asks Twitter to explain ‘manipulative’ tag for BJP leader Sambit Patra’s tweet

New Delhi, May 24
The Special Cell of Delhi Police, which is probing a case relating to an alleged Congress “toolkit” against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, has sent a notice to Twitter to clarify “its classification of a tweet” by BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra as “manipulative”.
A senior Delhi Police official said the Special Cell has asked Twitter to share the information that it has in regard to the alleged toolkit and why it used the “manipulated media” tag to it.
“Delhi Police is enquiring into a complaint in which clarification is sought from Twitter regarding the classification of a tweet by Sambit Patra as “manipulative”. It appears that Twitter has some information which is not known to us on the basis of which they have classified it as such,” the official said.
He further said the information in this regard is relevant to the inquiry and the Special Cell.
Earlier, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had written to Twitter and objected to its act of tagging some of the posts on an alleged Congress “toolkit” against the Modi government, as “manipulated media”. It had asked Twitter to remove the tag as the matter is pending investigation before a law enforcement agency.
“Twitter unilaterally chose to go ahead and designate certain tweets as ‘Manipulated’, pending investigation by the law enforcement agency. This action not only dilutes the credibility of Twitter as a neutral and unbiased platform facilitating the exchange of views by the users but also puts a question mark on the status of Twitter as an ‘intermediary’,” the Ministry said in its communication.
BJP had on May 18 slammed Congress for its “toolkit on Covid-19 pandemic”. Addressing the media BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the toolkit has instructions for social media volunteers of Congress to call the new Covid-19 mutant “Indian strain” or “Modi strain” against the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) instructions.
The Congress on its part vehemently denied the allegations and wrote to Delhi Police Commissioner seeking registration of FIR against BJP President JP Nadda, Union Minister Smriti Irani, party spokesperson Sambit Patra, party leader BL Santhosh and others alleging that they had shared “forged and fabricated documents with the intent to create communal disharmony and civil unrest” and to “divert attention from Modi government’s failure in providing necessary aid to people amidst the current pandemic”.