Fear as the key: Modi regime targets cartoonist Manjul

As the second wave of COVID-19 raged this summer, one would expect the Central government to be busy tackling the disease. Govt vs Twitter Twitter India sent a notice to the popular cartoonist Manjul, whose work drew attention to the government’s incompetence in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. In a strongly worded statement that sent clear signals to State governments seeking to punish people for social media pleas for help, the apex court said: “We want to make it very clear that if citizens communicate their grievance on social media and the Internet, then it cannot be said it is wrong information.” The Court added: “Let a strong message go across to all States that we will consider it a contempt of this court if any citizen is harassed for making a plea on social media/media for making an appeal for oxygen/beds, etc. In an email to Manjul, which he shared on his Twitter handle @MANJULtoons, the social media giant said that the law enforcement authorities had sought action on the matter. Amidst a clutch of petitions and voices of solidarity for Manjul and others at the receiving end, India’s permanent mission at the United Nations clarified that India’s new IT rules were designed to “empower ordinary users of social media” and were finalised after broad consultations with civil society, industry associations and others.