BJP leaders known to peddle hate speech and fake news betray anxiety at Twitter’s move to ban Donald Trump

The decision taken by Twitter to permanently suspend outgoing US President Donald Trump’s account, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence”, has not gone down well with at least two BJP leaders who are known to be serial offenders so far as posting fake news and provocative comments on their own handles on the micro-blogging site goes.

BJP’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya and youth wing president and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya both criticised Twitter’s action through tweets posted on Saturday which betrayed a sense of anxiety and apprehension at the move.

Malviya, who faces condemnation for using social media platforms to peddle fake news, and whose November 28 tweet on farmer protests was flagged as "manipulated media" by Twitter in December, expressed his displeasure by tweeting: “Deplatforming Donald Trump, a sitting US president, sets a dangerous precedent. It has less to do with his views and more to do with intolerance for a differing point. Ironically, those who claim to champion free speech are celebrating. Big tech firms are now the new oligarchs.”

Surya, who’s had to face plenty of criticism in the past for hate speech, used the opportunity to call for a review of the laws governing these firms apparently so that such action is not taken in India.

He posted on Twitter: “This must be wake up call for all who don’t yet understand threat to our democracies by unregulated big tech companies. If they can do this to POTUS, they can do this to anyone. Sooner India reviews intermediaries regulations, better for our democracy.”

Known for his own incendiary and divisive public speeches, the young parliamentarian was only a few weeks ago heard ratcheting up religious tempers in Hyderabad amid the campaign for the city municipal polls.

"Owaisi is Jinnah's new avatar. We must defeat him," Surya had said, equating the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen chief with Pakistan's founder. His comments provoked a warning from Hyderabad police not to incite communal violence.