Mahima Kaul Director, Public Policy, India and South Asia at Twitter has resigned, the company said on Sunday. After serving for five years at Twitter India Kaul, will be at the helm till March-end. Twitter is currently in the eye of the storm following the ruckus over controversial farmer tweets that resulted in the Indian government sending a 'strongly-worded' notice to the company.
As soon as the news made rounds of micro-blogging sites, netizens came up with support of Kaul by making #MahimaPleaseDontGo viral. Here’s how netizens reacted to Kaul’s decision.
The declaration came as in a clear attempt to polarise India, multiple international celebrities with hardly any knowledge on Indian affairs, extended their support on Twitter to the farmers agitating against the new agriculture laws.
The government in a strong reaction described them as part of "vested interest groups" and their support as "sensationalist social media hashtags and comments" which are "neither accurate nor responsible". In a notice to Twitter, the government said that the company, as an intermediary under Section 2[1][w] of the act, is directed to block access by the public to the said Twitter handles and also the said hashtag with immediate effect.
Also read: India directs Twitter to block 1,178 accounts with Khalistan, Pakistan links
Legal experts stated that top Twitter management in India faces penal action that may include seven-year imprisonment and fine if the company does not comply with the Indian government's order to remove accounts and tweets which alleged ‘farmer genocide’ in India.
(With inputs from IANS)