New Delhi: A day after Facebook asked Rahul Gandhi to take down his Instagram post that showed the Congress leader with the parents of a 9-year-old rape victim, his party alleged it was a move by the Modi government to divert from the real issue. Speaking to ETV Bharat, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, "I frankly feel social media platforms should start acting like independent credible platforms instead of being puppets of this government."
"The core issue continues to be the brutal rape and forced cremation of that girl. Her parents are still crying for justice. Somebody who stands with them as a mark of protest, ensuring justice, has been targeted. We posted the picture after obtaining permission from the victim's parents and we have shared a copy of their consent letter with Twitter. We feel this is a selective outrage done at the behest of the government."
Read: Neither Rahul Gandhi nor Congress have any credibility left: BJP's Sambit Patra
Earlier, Facebook had received a summons from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asking the social media platform to take action against Gandhi. Twitter, too, had locked the Congress scion's account over the issue.
Though it was reported that the mother of the rape victim had no objections to any tweet or photo, a news report on Tuesday, stated that she had refused to give consent to anyone sharing the pictures on social media. When asked about the same, Shrinate replied, "I do not want to comment on a news report because we still have that consent form."
Read: NCPCR demands action against Instagram profile of Rahul Gandhi
Another Congress leader Alka Lamba, too, accused the government of diverting from the real issues by resorting to such "tactics", saying, "The bigger issue is the increasing rape cases in our country, not the Twitter account of Rahul Gandhi. If anyone wants to run away from its accountability by using these diversionary tactics, we won't let that happen."
