New Delhi: Twitter on Monday, February 15, notified Haryana home minister Anil Vij that it did not find that his tweet – calling for “anti-nationals” like Disha Ravi to be “destroyed from the roots” – required removal under its rules.
“Whoever has seeds of anti-nationalism in their mind has to be destroyed from the roots, be it #Disha_Ravi or anyone else,” Vij said in Hindi.
Later, the minister posted a response from Twitter on a complaint that was filed regarding his tweet. The complaint, according to the Twitter notice, was filed from Germany under the Network Enforcement Act. The Act requires social media sites with more than two million users to affect a local takedown of “obviously illegal” content within 24 hours of notification.
The response from Twitter read, “We have received a complaint regarding your account, @anilvijminister for the following content…”
“We have investigated the reported content and have found that it is not subject to removal under the Twitter Rules or German law. Accordingly, we have not taken any action as a result of this specific report,” the response said.
Vij posted Twitter’s notification to him without any additions.
News outlets like NDTV and News18 have reported that Twitter deleted Vij’s tweet against Ravi for a while before restoring it, but The Wire has not been able to independently verify this.
The minister’s remarks came two days after Disha Ravi was held by the Delhi Police in connection with the “toolkit” for solidarity with the farmers’ protests shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Also read: In India and Abroad, Disha Ravi’s ‘Atrocious’ Arrest Sparks Outrage
Police have claimed that she was a “key conspirator” and have issued non-bailable warrants against two others in connection with the toolkit. Ravi herself had only edited a few lines on the toolkit that was shared online by several people.
In the document, various actions that are common to nearly all protests or movements requiring mass support – including how to tweet effectively to gain visibility – are listed.