Cambridge Analytica's footprints in Cong's Gujarat campaign: BJP

The BJP today stepped up its attack on Rahul Gandhi over his party's alleged links with Cambridge Analytica, saying its "footprints" were visible in the opposition party's campaign in Gujarat and suggested that it had a role in the Congress chief's use of the term "Gabbar Singh Tax".

The data analytics firm is known for its "aggressive and fake news" campaign, party leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters, suggesting that it had a role in Gandhi's social media campaign and the Congress' "poisonous" electioneering in Gujarat.

He also accused Gandhi of doing politics on dead bodies, after the Congress chief criticised the government over the killing of 39 Indians in Iraq.

Addressing a press conference, Prasad said it was the Congress which disrupted proceedings in Lok Sabha when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had sought to make a statement on the deaths of these Indians.

"All I will tell Rahul Gandhi he should not do politics on dead bodies of Indians who lost their lives in very unfortunate circumstances," he told reporters.

His response came after Gandhi suggested that the government had "invented" a story about the Congress' alleged links with the controversial firm to divert the media attention from these deaths as it was caught "lying" on the issue.

Prasad insisted that the Congress has used the services of Cambridge Analytica, which has been accused of harvesting people's data from platforms like Facebook unlawfully to influence elections in different countries.

He said several media reports about the opposition party using the services of the firm had appeared in October and November last year and it never denied those stories till the BJP raised the issue yesterday.

Prasad alleged that imprints of Cambridge Analytica were "visible" in the Congress' campaign in Gujarat. It ran a "poisonous and divisive campaign" in the state, he claimed.

Gandhi has targeted the Modi government over its roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and dubbed it "Gabbar Singh Tax", a term which the Congress believed had gained a lot of traction, especially on social media.

The opposition party maintained a conspicuous silence on the role of a dubious company, Prasad said, adding that it prompts him to question whether it has an ability to run this country.

On questions about reports that an Indian company, which was Cambridge Analytica's partner, might have worked for the BJP and its allies as well, Prasad insisted that his party never had any ties with the foreign company.

There is no authentic confirmation of any Indian partner of the company working for the BJP or its allies, he said.

He, however, sought to make a distinction between Cambridge Analytica and its partner, saying the former has been accused of using honey trap and data theft.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)