Consequent to the incriminatory material obtained through witness depositions during the previous proceedings of the committee as well as careful deliberation of the material on record, the Delhi Legislative Assembly Committee for Peace and Harmony under the Chairmanship of Raghav Chadha has decided to call upon Ajit Mohan, vice-president and Managing Director of Facebook India to determine the veracity of the allegations levelled against the social media platform.
A formal notice has been sent to him for appearance before the committee on September 15 with a view to carry out the relevant proceedings. Some complaints shall also be examined on the same day.
The committee has prima facie found Facebook complicit in Delhi riots of February 2020 on the premise of incriminatory material produced on record by the witnesses as well as their scathing depositions before the Committee. Further, the committee has also urged the need of an independent investigation leading to the filing of a supplementary charge sheet in the ongoing cases related to Delhi riots on the basis of supportive and corroborative material during the course of purported investigation. Several experts as well as independent witnesses have been thoroughly examined by the committee in its previous proceedings.
“Witness Awesh Tiwari had asserted in his deposition that complicity of Facebook is not only limited to aggravation in Delhi riots but has been consistently sheltering hate against minority communities since a very long time, it said in a statement, adding that Tiwari had further asserted before the committee that Facebook essentially refuses to take down the hateful and divisive content of its platform but at the same time deliberately removes or lowers the visibility of content which aims at promoting unity and amity amongst communities.
Second witness Kunal Purohit, an independent journalist and a researcher had pointed out that amidst the commercial transaction and rapid government collaboration between the ruling dispensation and Facebook, there is an apparent conflict of interest due to which Facebook flagrantly refuses to apply its restrictive policies to content displayed in favour of the Ruling dispensation.
Purohit had also asserted that whatever has happened on WhatsApp to foment and instigate hate against certain community, prior to Delhi riots, was premeditated and predesigned in a planned manner which gradually spread all over Facebook as well, it said.
Further, it was also unanimously deposed that a free and fair investigation must be carried to ascertain the roles and complicity of alleged delinquent officials along with devious elements with ascertain their alleged complicity and roles ,so as to impute their alleged culpability in the alleged orchestration of to attribute culpability of Facebook in Delhi riots.
The Delhi Legislative assembly’s committee on Peace and Harmony had received multiple complaints addressed to its Chairman Raghav Chadha alleging that despite its comprehensive policies and regulations on curbing unabated dissemination of hateful and offensive content in place.
Taking in account the gravity of the allegations put forth in the complaints and its possible repercussions, the committee had firmly decided to delve into the issue and apprehend any devious conspiracy and unholy nexus of rabble- rousers with oblique motives to wreak havoc in the country and more particularly in Delhi by disturbing peace and tranquility as well as instigating intense communal disharmony, and thus the proceedings were initiated and are expedited in order to put this issue to its logical conclusion.