Facebook Inc’s public policy director for India, South and Central Asia, Ankhi Das, on Tuesday stepped down. In a statement, the company said she quit to pursue interests in public service.
“Ankhi has decided to step down from her role in Facebook to pursue her interest in public service. Ankhi was one of our earliest employees in India and played an instrumental role in the growth of the company and its services over the last 9 years,” Ajit Mohan, Managing Director India of Facebook, said in an e-mailed statement, carried by PTI.
Das has been in the eye of a political storm in India since August, after The Wall Street Journal reported in August that she had posted messages of her support for BJP for several years on a Facebook group of the company’s employees. She also detailed efforts to help the party win the 2014 national election, said the report by Jeff Horwitz and Newley Purnell.
A 14 August report by Wall Street Journal alleged that Das told employees that punishing hate speech by BJP leaders in India would damage the company’s “business prospects” in India.
