Samyukta Kisan Morcha claims Twitter accounts linked to farm movement withheld on 'instructions' of Centre

NEW DELHI: Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella organisation of various farmers' organisations, on Monday claimed that Twitter has withheld around a dozen accounts linked to the farm movement on the "instructions" of the central government.

The SKM also demanded the release of activist Teesta Setalvad and former IPS officers RB Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt who have been accused of fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in connection with the 2002 Gujarat communal riots.

According to SKM, @kisnaektamorcha and @tractor2twitr are the two prominent accounts among others that have been withheld.

The SKM alleged that the BJP government at the Centre has "put pressure" on Twitter to "shut down" these accounts for questioning the Centre.

No immediate response was available from Twitter.

"Twitter has withheld about a dozen Twitter accounts in India, including the Twitter handle @kisanektamorcha allied with the farm movement, without any warning. Among them are important accounts like @Tractor2twitr," the SKM said in a statement.

"The important thing in this context is that the Union government chose the day of emergency to take this anti-farmer step. The night of 25/26 June 1975, when emergency was imposed in the country, is considered a black day in the democracy of India," the statement added.

The SKM demands that all Twitter accounts, including @kisnaektamorcha and @tractor2twitr that have been withheld "undemocratically and unreasonably", should be restored, the statement said.

"We also demand that Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt be released unconditionally and justice should be ensured for the victims of Gujarat riots," said SKM.

While Setalvad and Sreekumar have been arrested, the process is on to get a transfer warrant for the custody of Bhatt, who is serving a life sentence in a custodial death case at a jail at Palanpur, in connection with the FIR lodged against them.