Twitter tells its side of the story after deleting Abhijeet's account

The official statement says its just abiding by existing rules of the platform

Indian Twitterverse has been on the boil these last few days. Twitter suspended playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya's account, BJP MP and actor Paresh Rawal was forced to delete his tweet on Arundhati Roy, and Sonu Nigam decided to quit Twitter in solidarity with the two. The series of events that took place on the micro-blogging website has seen accusations made against Twitter as well with pro-BJP tweeters accusing it of a bias. 

Now, Twitter has issued an official statement to substantiate the suspension. The social media giant has made it clear that they are just abiding by the rules and regulations that have been created over a span of time. 

In a statement released today, a Twitter spokesperson said, “We do not comment on individual accounts but what we can say is that our rules are clear and we enforce them. We want people to feel safe expressing diverse opinions and beliefs but we draw the line when it comes to behavior that crosses the line into abuse, including behaviour designed to consciously harass, intimidate, or silence another person's voice. Those that violate our policies may find their account temporarily locked and/or be subject to permanent suspension. We encourage anyone who spots someone engaging in abusive behavior to report the content in-app or file a report here.”

As per reports, Abhijeet abused JNU student activist Shehla Rashid and another female Twitter user after which complaints were his tweets were reported by other users leading to the suspension. Abhijeet was accused of harassing Shehla with "inappropriate" and "insulting" language.

Shehla tweeted a news story which stated involvement of BJP men in a sex racket. Quoting the same, Abhijeet tweeted, “There is rumour she took money for two hours and didn’t satisfy the client... big racket.” In another tweet, he replied to a woman Twitter user who called him out for his provocative tweets. Abhijeet “You Ms Pak. Tell me your cage no? Will reach there... Will do the favourite pose.” Twitter suspended his account over these sexist and offensive remarks.

The singer got some support from his fellow singer, Sonu Nigam, who wrote, "Really? They suspended his account? Why? 90% of Twitter accounts then should be suspended too for worse fanaticism, Foul language & Threats!"

Singer Sonu Nigam, in a series of tweets announced on Wednesday that he would be quitting Twitter soon, in support of playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya and actor Paresh Rawal. Siding with Abhijeet and actor Paresh Rawal, Sonu claimed that the platform had no balance and was one-sided. Sonu urged all "logical and sensible patriots" to do the same, following the suspension of singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya's micro-blogging account. 

Also read: In a series of 24 tweets, Sonu Nigam announces that he is quitting Twitter

Twitter suspends Abhijeet's account, forces Rawal to delete tweet on Roy

BJP MP Paresh Rawal deletes 'tie her to army jeep' tweet on Arundhati Roy

In his series of 24 tweets, Sonu talked about how Abhijeet and Paresh Rawal are being criticised on social media for sharing their views on Twitter.  Sonu tweeted, “One could disagree with Abhijeetda’s language but isn’t Shehla’s accusation tht BJP has a sex racket, provocation enough to supporters? If his account is deleted, why not her?”

Paresh Rawal on Sunday tweeted that author Arundhati Roy should be tied to an Indian Army jeep instead of a stone-pelter. The tweet by Rawal was in context with a video which had gone viral last month.  The video showed a man being tied to the front of an Indian Army vehicle, being paraded in a village in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district, as a warning to stone-pelters. 

Twitter also made Rawal to delete his tweet. This was highlighted by other BJP members on Twitter who posted screenshots of the Twitter prompt that asked Rawal to delete the tweet.