Vote Fixing Scam: Here's all you need to know

In a massive controversy which has broken out on Wednesday, both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress fired data breach allegations against each other. At the center of the controversy is a UK-based company, Cambridge Analytica, which is in troubled waters globally over their alleged misuse of data sourced from social-media giant Facebook.

Here’s all you need to know about the spiralling controversy that has rocked Indian politics:

RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD ALLEGES CONGRESS HIRED CONTROVERSIAL COMPANY

Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has hit out at the Congress party over its alleged links to data analytics company Cambridge Analytica. The company is in troubled waters over the alleged misuse of data sourced from Facebook.

While stating that he will not “tolerate the abuse of social media”, he posed three questions to the Congress Party in a press briefing on Wednesday in New Delhi:

 

“Will the Congress party depend on data manipulation and theft to woo voters?”

 

“Does the Congress endorse the methods used by Cambridge Analytica?”

 

“What is Cambridge Analytica’s role in Rahul Gandhi’s social media profile?”

 

The Union Law Minister posed the questions after reports alleged that the British Company had reached out to the Congress with a social media strategy ahead of polls in the country.

Ravi Shankar Prasad also alleged that Cambridge Analytica was the agency roped in by Congress to run their 2019 campaign.

CONGRESS DENIED HIRING THE CONTROVERSIAL COMPANY

Meanwhile, the Congress party via Divya Spandana, Social Media & Digital Communications AICC, denied the BJP”s allegations on Twitter.

CONGRESS COUNTER-QUESTIONED BJP ON THEIR LINKS WITH THE  ACCUSED COMPANY

While the Congress party held a news conference chaired by spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala and said that the BJP’s allegation was based upon “fake news”. Putting on record that neither Rahul Gandhi nor the Congress party had ever hired Cambridge Analytica for any services, Surjewala said that the allegations were a “fake agenda pushed by the Law Minister”.

Presenting a counter charge to the BJP, the Congress party also alleged that it was the ruling party of India that “benefited”  from Cambridge Analytica and also asked “if it is fake company why did the BJP and JDU use the same company?”.

Referring to a partner company of Cambridge Analytica, OBI, Surjewala alleged that “ Home Minister Rajnath Singh used the company in 2009”.  

FIRM LINKED TO CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA MAINTAINS SILENCE

Meanwhile, Republic TV confronted Amrish Tyagi, MD of OBI-- the company that the Congress alleged the BJP hired for campaigns. In his response, Tyagi said he had nothing to do with the scandal and that he has been asked by his legal team to remain silent on the controversy.