Congress denied that the party had used the services of Cambridge Analytica.
In his first response to the
Facebook data scandal, Rahul Gandhi today accused the government of "inventing" stories on the Congress's involvement to divert attention from the controversy following Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's statement on the killing of 39 Indians in Iraq. The Congress president also took a swipe at the media for "biting the bait".
Problem: 39 Indians dead; Govt on the mat, caught lying. Solution: Invent story on Congress & Data Theft. Result: Media networks bite bait; 39 Indians vanish from radar. Problem solved.
The Congress and the BJP yesterday traded charges after it emerged that the scandal involving Cambridge Analytica - a London-based data firm accused of accessing data of millions of
Facebook users to help elect US President Donald Trump in 2016 - could have links to elections in India.
Union Minister for Information and Techonology
Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that the Congress had been in touch with the firm. He said: "We support press freedom but don't like misuse of social media in the electoral process. As IT and law minister, I have to make it clear." He also warned of action against Facebook, if need be.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala emphatically denied that the party had used the services of Cambridge Analytica.
The website of the Indian affiliate of Cambridge Analytica, Ovleno Business Intelligence (OBI), however, mentions the BJP, Congress and the Janata Dal (United) of Nitish Kumar as clients. Cambridge Analytica's website says the company provided its services during the Bihar election in 2010 to a political party in India.
The website of Ovleno Business Intelligence has since been suspended.
A day before the data breach controversy exploded, the Congress had slammed into the government for "lying" and "misleading the nation" on the 39 Indians who were captured by the ISIS in Iraq's Mosul in 2014. Sushma Swaraj said in parliament that DNA tests confirmed that the Indian workers had been shot dead. Their remains were found buried under a mound.
In July last year, Sushma Swaraj had said that unless evidence suggested otherwise, the Indians would be presumed alive and safe.