With just days to go for the Lok Sabha elections to begin, social media platform X has removed four posts of political parties and leaders after the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued takedown orders for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The now-removed posts were made from the handles of YSRCP – the ruling government in Andhra Pradesh, Aam Aadmi Party, Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Deputy CM and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Samrat Choudhary.
In a communication on Tuesday, April 16, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk expressed disagreement with the actions of the ECI. “In compliance with the orders, we have withheld these posts for the remainder of the election period. However, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts and political speech in general,” it added. The social media platform said that they had notified the affected users and urged the Election Commission to publish all of its takedown orders from now for better transparency.
In its post on March 18, the Aam Aadmi Party had posted a morphed picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the title ‘Bond Chor’, referring to the Electoral Bonds case. The caption read, “Bond Chor: Narendra Modi’. In his post on March 22, BJP leader Samrat Choudhary had posted a video byte of his with the media, where he could be heard saying that former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav was such a leader that “he did not even leave his daughter for selling tickets.”
In its removed post, YSRCP took a dig at the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) over a drug bust at Visakhapatnam, on March 16. A cargo ship from Brazil carrying 25 tonnes of pale yellow powder mixed with drugs had reached the port. “All these days we thought that TDP is a Telugu Dongala (thieves) party. But after the seizure of drugs consignment, we realise it is Telugu Drugs Party,” read the post.
The Election Commission also wanted the removal of TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu’s post on the same issue. Calling Andhra Pradesh the drug capital of India, Naidu said, “Shocking, CBI seized a staggering 25,000 kg of drugs at Vizag Port, today. The non-cooperation of AP Police and port employees suggests complicity and point towards the potential involvement of the ruling party. The timing of such a huge consignment of drugs finding its way into AP is questionable. What would the ruling have done with the drugs in the upcoming elections? This confirms my fear that Andhra Pradesh has turned into the drug capital of India over the last five years and the future of our youth is at serious risk. It is time that the people responsible for this menace are caught and punished.”
In its takedown order to X, ECI said that the post was violating clause 2 of the MCC. “Criticism of other political parties, when made, shall be confined to their policies and programme, past record and work. Parties and candidates shall refrain from criticism of all aspects of private life, not connected with the public activities of the leaders or workers of other parties. Criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion,” the clause says.
The Election Commission said the tweets also violated an advisory issued by the Election Commission in March. "No aspect of the private life, not connected with the public activities, of the leaders or workers of other parties is to be criticised. Low-level personal attacks to insult the rivals shall not be made,” it says.