Haryana Interior Minister Anil Vij tweeted that Disha Ravi “should be destroyed” (file)
New Delhi:
A tweet from Haryana Interior Minister Anil Vij saying that those with “seeds of anti-nationalism … should be destroyed … be it Disha Ravi or anyone else” – has been investigated and “is not subject to removal “under rules governing extreme speech online, Twitter said Monday afternoon.
Hours earlier, Twitter issued a notice to Mr. Vij, saying he had removed the tweet based on a complaint from a user in Germany; The complaint was made under the German Network Enforcement Act, which obliges social media providers to remove illegal content within a short period of time.
The full tweet (in Hindi) has since been restored and translates as: “If seeds of anti-nationalism have been sown in someone’s thought process, it must be destroyed in the bud … be it Disha Ravi or anyone else” .
देश विरोध का बीज जिसके भी दिमाग में हो उसका समूल नाश कर देना चाहिए फिर चाहे वह # दिशा_रवि हो यां कोई और।
– ANIL VIJ MINISTER HARYANA (@anilvijminister) February 15, 2021
In the screenshot shared by Mr. Vij, a message from Twitter reads: “German law requires Twitter to provide a notice to users who are reported by people from Germany through the reporting stream of the Law Enforcement of the network … We have investigated the reported content and found that it is not subject to removal under Twitter rules. “
– ANIL VIJ MINISTER HARYANA (@anilvijminister) February 15, 2021
Disha Ravi, 22, was arrested Sunday in connection with a “toolkit,” later also tweeted by teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, related to farmers’ protest against new farm laws.
Police allege that Ms Ravi was a key conspirator and, in an attempt to revive a Khalistani group, prepared and released a document that aims to “spread discontent against the Indian state”.
The police have also named Nikita Jacob, a lawyer, and Shantanu Muluk, an activist, in this case. They say all three created the document and then passed it on to others for editing.
Ravi’s arrest sparked outrage after it emerged that Delhi police failed to obtain permission from a local court, as is the legal precedent. It was also revealed that she did not have a lawyer of her own when she appeared in court on charges of sedition and conspiracy and was sent into police custody for five days.
Disha Ravi, who argued her own case, told the court: “I did not make the Toolkit. We wanted to support farmers. I edited two lines on February 3.”
Jairam Ramesh, a former minister and legislator for the opposition Congress party, called his arrest and detention “completely egregious” and “unjustified harassment and intimidation.”
The top ministers of Bengal and Delhi have also expressed outrage; Mamata Banerjee condemned the center for arresting those protesting against its policies and Arvind Kejriwal called Ms. Ravi’s arrest an “unprecedented attack on democracy.”
Last week, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Twitter and the center about a petition requesting a mechanism to verify fake news, hate messages and inflammatory content on its platform.
Political parties used social media accounts to “tarnish the image of opponents,” particularly during elections, said Vinit Goenka of the BJP, who presented the petition.
This comes at a time when the center is demanding the removal of 1,000 accounts and posts that it says are spreading provocative content related to farmers’ protests. Twitter said the content was not blocked because the center’s orders were not in line with Indian law.
.
