Congress accuses govt of suppressing alternate media

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate.

New Delhi : The Congress party on Wednesday accused the government of attacking “alternate media”, claiming that four accounts on the social media platform X were withheld under duress.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate made the remarks in response to a message shared by X , which “clarified that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued directives to delete or withhold the posts of 4 accounts.”

Shrinate said that the party was surprised to see that one of the posts that was deleted was on the issue of electoral bonds. “It is the largest scam in independent India,” she said, calling it a “vasooli (extortion) racket” and involving “cut money”,

She alleged that the people who donated to the ruling party through electoral bonds were the ones winning big contracts and people who were raided by the enforcement directorate (ED), central bureau of investigation (CBI) and the income tax department were exempted after they donated.

Shrinate said that Modi is “the champion of corruption” and “he has facilitated it”.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Shrinate said a “large section of mainstream media” has been converted into “cheerleaders of the government” and instead of asking “uncomfortable questions” they are “reiterating Modi’s script” like a “mouthpiece”.

The Congress spokesperson said the government was converting even social media platforms to “eco-chambers”, which had been providing an “alternate view” to that of the mainstream media.

Shrinate also spoke about “shadow banning” and “suppression” of social media platforms by giving examples of Mandeep Punia (Gao-Savera) an independent journalist and Hansraj Meena, a social activist, whose social media handles were “suspended” by the information and broadcasting ministry during the protest by farmers; she mentioned the suspension of “Bolta Hindustan” channel on YouTube and of some creators who were making videos on the issue of “EVM-VVPAT”.

She alleged that by curbing the freedom of creating videos, the government was “attacking the alternate media” and the “freedom of speech and expression”.

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