A day after the hacking of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account, the official Twitter account of Indian National Congress too was hacked. Some messages with expletives and profanities were posted online.
While Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh suspected role of “followers of the Government” behind hacking of Twitter accounts of the party and Rahul, the BJP hit out at him saying that putting blame on the BJP for everything shows the Opposition party’s mental bankruptcy.
Rahul dissuaded his party MPs from raising the issue of hacking of his Twitter account in Parliament, saying it should not be blown out of proportion. “We wanted to raise this issue. But when we discussed it with Rahulji, he said Parliament should not be used for the purpose (for raising the issue),” Mallikarjun Kharge, who is leader of Congress in the lok Sabha, told reporters outside Parliament.
The hacking of the Congress vice-president’s Twitter account is being probed by the Delhi Police and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology following a complaint by the party. IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the matter is being taken very “seriously” and prompt action has been taken. “We are seeking the details of all those who logged in that Twitter account in the last one week to probe it further,” Prasad said.
Rahul’s Twitter account was hacked on Wednesday night and some obscene remarks were put out online for around an hour. His email was also hacked, the party claimed.
Blaming “fascist” forces for the hacking, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said it reflects the extremities of an intolerant culture that resorts to abuse when cornered and claimed the party has fought such “hatred and animosity” with Gandhian compassion and tolerance. He also said this exposes cyber security network in India and its weaknesses.
The Congress filed a complaint with the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police on the hacking of the two twitter accounts, the party website and the email accounts of the Congress and Rahul. Surjewala confirmed that first @OfficeOfRG and then @INCIndia twitter accounts were hacked by “lumpen fascists”.
“We suspect some of the Government’s followers only have hacked the official account of Congress. Congress’ account is being hacked, why not of BJP’sIJ Rahul Gandhi’s account is being hacked, why not that of Narendra Modi or Amit ShahIJ This should be probed,” Digvijay Singh told reporters on the Parliament premise.
Hitting back, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the Congress will blame the BJP even if its leaders experience stomachache.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said some things are “inevitable” in the cyber world. “Hacking happens. It has happened to me and so to others. At the same time, Twitter is a relatively secure platform and this suggests that there were some significant forces behind it,” he said.
The Congress dubbed as “predetermined conspiracy” and systematic attack on free speech and right to disagree the hacking of its Twitter account and that of Rahul and raised questions on the safety of the entire digital payment network as also of privacy.
“Every right thinking Indian is shocked by such despotic and vulgar attempts, which reflect the extremities of a growing intolerant culture around us that resorts to abuse and insult every time it lacks answers to the questioned raised by those who disagree with their point of view,” Surjewala said in a statement.
Noting that time has come for the Government to ponder over susceptibility of entire digital financial platforms, the Congress leader raised questions over the safety and security of all electronic transactions and digital financial data.