Mahima Kaul, the Director, Public Policy, India and South Asia for Twitter India has resigned from the company amid furore on the microblogging platform over some tweets.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT had recent directed Twitter to block around 250 tweets and Twitter accounts that were making 'fake, intimidatory and provocative tweets' on January 30 with hashtags accusing the Modi government of planning farmers 'genocide' without any further substantiation. Hours after being withheld by Twitter however, several accounts were restored by the platform.
The news of Kaul's resignation came a few days after the government issued a notice to Twitter, directing the platform to comply with its order to remove content accounts related to "farmer genocide" hashtags. The government also warned that the microblogging platform may face "penal action" for non-compliance of its order.
News of Kaul's resignation however was met with outrage online, with many calling for her reinstatement. While no specific reason had been given for the decision, Monique Meche the VP of Public Policy for Twitter had told IANS that she was stepping down "to take a well-deserved break".
Twitter however is not convinced.
Since morning, the hashtag "MahimaPleaseDontGo" has been trending on the social media platform, with more than 18,000 posts thus far. The hashtag and the calls for Kaul to remain at her position have been amplified by several verified accounts and prominent users.
Many have expressed admiration for Twitter's actions under her leadership, even as others wonder whether she had faced pressure to resign. Those including the still trending hashtag include a slew of political leaders.
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