Farmers’ Protest 2.0: Govt. Taken to Court Over Blocked Social Media; RSS Accuses Farmers of Fomenting Anarchy

Haryana-based media house the Gaon Savera Trust has filed a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court (PHHC) challenging the alleged withholding of its X and YouTube accounts. Journalist-Editor Mandeep Singh has stated this was retribution for covering the Farmers' Protest. As per the plea, the accounts were blocked on the request of the Indian govt., citing national security and public order concerns. The petitioners submitted that on 16 Feb, their X and YouTube accounts were withheld for disseminating information on the ongoing Farmers' Protest. A notice was sent by X stating that the accounts have been withheld on ‘legal removal demand’ from the Indian govt. claiming the content violates the Information Technology Act, 2000. The govt. has shut down over 100 social media handles. (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 11, Story 4). While the Trust has gone ahead with its case, the other activists and journalists whose accounts have been banned on X plan to file another petition just for the X handles. As the Farmers’ Protest enters Day 42, the farmers stand resilient on the Panjab and Haryana interstate borders at Shambu, Khanauri, and now Dabwali. Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) presented their 2023-24 annual report at the start of a three-day meeting of All-India Pratinidhi Sabha. The RSS’ highest decision-making body in Nagpur said separatist tendencies were raising their head in Panjab under the garb of the farmers’ agitation and flagged ‘disruptive tendencies at play in Panjab and Haryana.’ It said, ‘Especially in Punjab, attempts are being made to spread anarchy just two months before the General Elections.’