The demand for setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the "nexus" between Facebook and the ruling BJP got more voice with the CPI(M) on Monday joining hands with the Congress and asking the government to bar the social media giant from collaborating with official and constitutional bodies like the Election Commission.
The political rhetoric over the controversy following the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report on Facebook India not taking action against certain hate posts by the Hindutva supporters also intensified with Union Minister Hardeep Puri targeting former Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his criticism, alleging that the "now on, now off" leader's party has been a "death chamber of dissent, right to expression and internal democracy".
Triggering a political slugfest, the WSJ report had claimed that Facebook India looked the other way on hate posts by BJP-RSS supporters by quoting former and current employees who claimed that their India policy head Ankhi Das "opposed applying hate-speech rules” to at least four individuals and groups linked with the ruling BJP, as it could impact its business in the country.
A day after the Congress raised the demand, the CPI(M) also sought a JPC probe into the "nexus" between the "global social media behemoth" and the BJP. It said pending investigations, Facebook should be barred from collaborating with any government department or constitutional body like the Election Commission.
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury accused Facebook of illegally interfering in India's electoral process and "promoting” the BJP agenda.
"It seeks profits from hate. It has promoted hate speech, which is a violation of law and is liable for criminal prosecution. It is equally worrisome that government bodies, institutions and departments have worked in close cooperation with Facebook, which is tantamount to subvert our democracy and has possibly compromised India's interests," Yechury tweeted.
Emphasising that the report confirmed the "overall apprehension" over Facebook's activities, it said the expose raises “serious questions about the huge social media investment and operations of the BJP and its role in promoting hate” between communities, a CPI(M) statement said.
The party also referred to the recent investment of Facebook in Reliance and said it strengthened the "apprehension of monopoly control, especially, in the absence of an effective social media internal regulatory oversight".
Sources said the government is in no mood to accede to the demand for a JPC probe while the BJP continued to target Rahul with Puri following Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in attacking Rahul.
"There is something surreal about the ‘now on now off’ leader of a political party which has not been able to muster 100 seats in the last two general elections put together, deciding to sermonise on democratic values and norms. He needs to introspect and perhaps change his set of advisors," Puri tweeted.
Referring to claims that around 100 leaders have written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanding change in leadership and transparency in party elections, Puri said the "headless" party is in the midst of a civil war and anyone who dissents is shown the door.
"He wants to sermonise? Before that he should look at the record of the government led by his party during the Emergency years of 1975-77 when every democratic institution was declared defunct and one leader’s voice was regarded as law," the minister added.
The former Congress president tweeted on Sunday, "BJP and RSS control Facebook and 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."