NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Monday dismissed claims made by the Congress party that Instagram “blocked” posts by Rahul Gandhi featuring Tamil Nadu’s newly appointed Chief Minister, Vijay. The ministry was accused of suppressing the voices of opposition leaders in the country.
Sources informed the news agency ANI that MeitY had no involvement in the alleged action, attributing the situation to an internal error within Instagram’s system, which mistakenly flagged the post for blocking. “It has been wrongly claimed by certain social media handles that certain posts of the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) were restricted by MeitY. We clarify that MeitY had nothing to do with this action; it was because of the platform’s own internal system mistakenly flagging the posts for blocking, which have now been restored,” the sources stated.
This statement followed assertions from Srivatsa, the former national campaign head for the Youth Congress, who noted that Gandhi’s reel had amassed 12 million views within an hour, while a related photo post reached an audience of 46 million. Srivatsa remarked, “Instagram has blocked LoP Rahul Gandhi’s reel and picture post featuring him and Thalapathy Vijay at today’s swearing-in ceremony. The viral reel had gathered 12 million views in less than an hour while the viral picture post had already reached 46 million people.”
He expressed concern over the lack of explanation from Meta, stating, “The ‘glitch’ is because of MeitY rules. Rahul Gandhi’s social media accounts have been suppressed for a long time. His X reach, YouTube views, and Instagram followers have all been suppressed. This is how opposition leaders’ voices are curtailed in India.”
Gandhi and other Congress leaders attended the swearing-in ceremony for Vijay, who took office as the 13th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday, marking a significant political shift in the state. During his inaugural speech, Vijay emphasized his ordinary upbringing and distanced himself from any grand political narrative. “I am just an ordinary human being living a normal life. I will never deceive you with false promises. I will only promise what is possible,” he stated to enthusiastic applause.
Vijay thanked young voters and supporters who campaigned for him, particularly mentioning his Gen Z followers who refer to him as “Vijay Mama.” He expressed gratitude to them for their support, assuring, “This Vijay Mama will always be there for you.”
The ceremony concluded with Vijay declaring, “Come, let all of us together give Tamil Nadu a fresh new government. This is the start of a new era of real, secular, and social justice.”
