Twitter has suspended the account of ‘liberal’ political commentator and journalist Salil Tripathi for violating its rules. It is not yet clear why his account was suspended or what rules he violated. He tweets under the username @saliltripathi.
It is not known whether Twitter mistakenly suspended Salil Tripathi. Given the fact that Tripathi is an anti-Modi ‘liberal’ and not a non-left voice on the platform, it is very much possible that it was unintentional and the account could be restored very soon in that case. ‘Liberals’ on the platform are quite distressed at the development as it is highly unusual for a person of liberal political inclinations to be suspended despite violating rules.
Some suggested that Salil Tripathi might have been suspended for posting a poem on Babri Masjid demolition. Today is the 28 year anniversary of the demolition of the disputed structure at Ram Janmabhoomi.
Was Salil Tripathi’s account suspended for a poem on Babri demolition @Twitter?
— Samrat X সম্রাট (@MrSamratX) December 6, 2020
What rule did it break?
Rahul Gandhi fan Sanjukta Basu suggested that the suspension could be the result of a ‘technical glitch’. “This must be a mistake,” she said.
What the hell. This must be a mistake. This just cannot be. Things are bad but not that bad, hope Salil Tripathi’s account suspended due to technical glitch and will be back soon. https://t.co/HVlBoZunjI
— Sanjukta Basu (@sanjukta) December 6, 2020
Salman Rushdie, too, joined the crowd ranting against the suspension and called it an ‘outrageous’ act of censorship. He called Salil Tripathi “one of the most important advocates of free speech”.
This is an outrageous act of censorship against one of the most important advocates of free speech. @Twitter stop it now! @jack what’s going on? https://t.co/Rwig7c3FHo
— Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) December 6, 2020
Activist Shahidul Alam shared a message from Salil Tripathi on the platform. The message said, “Twitter has suspended my account, no reason given. I have followed the process and asked for them to remove the suspension, but do not wish to kowtow further. If you feel up for it, do tweet, outrage, if you wish.”
