NEW DELHI: A day after the head of a parliamentary panel said Meta officials would be summoned for the remarks made by its CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the 2024 general election, a senior functionary of the social media giant issued an unconditional apology to the govt, emphasising India’s importance to the company.
Meta: Want to be at heart of India’s innovative future
“Dear honourable minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Mark’s observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in the 2024 elections holds true for several countries, BUT not India. We would like to apologise for this inadvertent error. India remains an incredibly important country for Meta, and we look forward to being at the heart of its innovative future,” Meta India vice-president Shivnath Thukral posted on X on Wednesday.
Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP and head of the parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology, had demanded an apology from Meta for tarnishing India’s image and said the company’s officials would be summoned.
However, after receiving the unconditional apology, Dubey said the committee would not be pursuing the matter further.
“The Indian Parliament and govt have the blessings and public trust of 140 crore people. Meta’s Indian official has finally apologised for his mistakes. This is the victory of the common citizens of India. By making Modi ji the prime minister for the third time, the people have introduced the country’s strongest leadership to the world. Now, the responsibility of our committee ends on this issue. We will call these social media platforms in the future on other issues. Forgiveness suits the cobra who has poison,” Dubey posted on X.
I&B, IT and railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had challenged Zuckerberg’s remarks made on the Joe Rogan podcast. “Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent govts, including India, in the 2024 elections, lost post-Covid is factually incorrect,” he said on X on Jan 13.
Zuckerberg had sparked controversy by claiming in the podcast that the Indian govt lost the 2024 election due to its weak response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He suggested that 2024 was a significant election year globally, with many incumbent govts, including India’s, losing elections.
