Jazzy B, a major voice in the ongoing farmers’ protest, says he would continue to express his sympathy with those fighting for their rights despite Twitter “suspending” his account in response to a court demand in India. According to the Lumen database, on June 6, Twitter received a formal request from the Indian government for four accounts, including Jazzy B and hip-hop artist L-Fresh the Lion.
On Monday evening, the 46-year-old musician moved to Instagram and published a snapshot of his Twitter account, which was uploaded by a page that claimed his profile was disabled for “raising his voice for farmer rights and demanding for justice for 1984 victims.”
The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, which erupted following the death of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, claimed the lives of 2,733 people in Delhi alone.
“I will always stand for rights of my people #MajdoorIktaZindabadKisanMajdoorIktaZindabadKisanMajdoorIkta #RaiseYourVoice, #NeverForget1984 “Jazzy B wrote on Instagram.
The singer shared another post where he wrote, “Waheguru ji! I don’t fear physical death, but when my conscience dies , that is real death #neverforget1984 #kisanmajdooriktazindabad.”
Users who visited Jazzy B’s Twitter account are greeted with the message “account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand.”
The singer has been in the front of the farmers’ protest, tweeting in favour of the cause on a regular basis. He also played earlier this year at the ‘Artists for Farmers’ performance near the Tikri border, where farmers are protesting the new farm rules.
Twitter has suspended four accounts, including hip-hop musician L-Fresh the Lion. The accounts have been “geo-restricted,” which means that persons living outside of India can still use them.
When contacted, a Twitter representative stated that when it gets a genuine legal request, it evaluates it in accordance with both the Twitter Rules and local law.
“If the content violates Twitter Rules, the content will be removed from the service. If it is determined to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, we may withhold access to the content in India only,” the spokesperson added.
According to the spokesperson, in all circumstances, the firm immediately tells the account holder so that they are aware that the firm has received a judicial order related to the account.
-with PTI inputs.