Congress leader Digvijaya SinghArguing that fake news and the use of indecent language on social media are creating communal tension, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday asked the government to bring in a comprehensive law to force social media sites to remove indecent content.
Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, the Rajya Sabha member, without taking names, said many people who use indecent language on Twitter and other social media sites are “followed by big people”. He then asked the government to bring in a comprehensive law to force social media sites to take down such indecent content so that attempts to spread communal poison can be checked.
Observing that the issue is very important, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said, “But at the same time, you need to evolve a consensus. Otherwise, the moment you say something like that, then the others will start saying freedom of expression has been curbed…”
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AAP MP: Israeli brewery using photos of Gandhi
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday alleged in the Rajya Sabha that an Israeli brewery has put a picture of Mahatma Gandhi on its liquor bottles.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Singh said the Israeli company has “insulted the Father of the Nation” by printing his picture on liquor bottles. He demanded a ban on the company and removal of the bottles carrying the pictures.
As several members supported Singh’s demand, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the matter was serious. Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad asked Naidu to direct the government to take steps to prevent the company from entering the Indian market.
Naidu then told External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who was present in the House, to “take note” of the issue and “try to take appropriate immediate action”.
