Joint parliamentary panel interrogates Twitter on location showing Ladakh as part of China

New Delhi, October 29: Representatives of microblogging site Twitter was grilled by an MP Meenakshi Lekhi-led panel Joint Committee of Parliament on Wednesday for around two hours on showing Ladakh as part of China.

During the questing, representatives of Twitter who appeared before the joint committee of parliament on Data Protection Bill, 2019, and told the panel that the company respects the sensitivities of India. "The recent geo-tagging issue was swiftly resolved by our teams. The company remains committed to openness and transparency and will stay in regular touch with the government to share timely updates," a Twitter spokesperson said.

 

However, the committee members were not satisfied with the explanation given by Twitter representatives that included Shagufta Kamran and Pallavi Walia.

 

"The committee was unanimous in its opinion that Twitter's explanation on showing Ladakh as part of China was inadequate," Lekhi said.

 

Lekhi also said, that "It is not a question of sensitivities only, it is a matter of India's sovereignty and integrity, showing Ladakh as part of China amounts to a criminal offense which attracts imprisonment of seven years."

 

Earlier last week, taking a strong objection to the "misrepresentation" of India's map, the IT minister wrote a stern letter to the Twitter CEO, saying that any attempt by the platform to disrespect the sovereignty and integrity of India, which is also reflected by the maps, was totally unacceptable and unlawful. IT Secretary reminded Twitter that Leh is the headquarter of Union Territory of Ladakh, and both Ladakh, as well as Jammu and Kashmir, are integral and inalienable parts of India, governed by the Constitution of India.

It comes in light after Senior defense journalist Nitin Gokhale took tweeter and posted a Screenshot in which Twitter had shown the geo-location of Leh in Jammu and Kashmir, People’s Republic of China. Gokhale also informed that he had retested the said feature and Twitter was still showing the location as "Jammu and Kashmir, People's Republic of China".