Twitter's reply is not enough to say Ladakh is part of China, provision for seven-year sentence: head of the parliamentary panel

The microblogging site Twitter's explanation in front of the parliamentary committee regarding showing Ladakh as part of China is not enough and is like a criminal act for which a seven-year jail sentence is provided. Committee chairman Meenakshi Lekhi said this on Wednesday.

Lekhi said that Twitter representatives appeared before the Joint Committee on Parliament on the Data Security Bill, 2019 and members asked them questions to show Ladakh as a territory of China. Lekhi told 'PTI-Bhasha', "The committee has a unanimous opinion that Twitter's explanation is not sufficient to show Ladakh as a territory of China."

However, he said that representatives of Twitter told the committee that the social media company respects the sentiments of India. Lekhi said, "It is not just a matter of sensitivity, it is a matter of sovereignty and integrity of India, showing Ladakh as a Chinese part is akin to a criminal act for which there is a provision of seven jail sentences."

On behalf of Twitter India, the committee was presented before the committee by Senior Manager, Public Policy Shagufta Kamran, Advocate Ayushi Kapoor, Policy Communications Officer Pallavi Walia, and Corporate Security Officer Manvinder Bali. Officers from the Ministry of Electronics, Information, and Technology and the Ministry of Law and Justice also appeared before the committee.

Central government gave strict warning

Earlier, the Indian government had warned Twitter sternly about showing an incorrect map of the country. The government had said that every attempt by Twitter to disregard the sovereignty and integrity of the country is unacceptable. Ajay Sahni, Secretary in the Ministry of Information Technology (IT), wrote a strong letter to Twitter's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jack Dorsi about this. Sahni said that any such effort not only tarnishes Twitter's reputation, but it also makes Twitter's impartiality suspicious as a medium.