[Reader-list] Congress Led Secular Govt seeks Facebook Ban

[Pawan Durani]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100526/jsp/nation/story_12488838.jsp

Maharashtra seeks Facebook ban
CITHARA PAUL

New Delhi, May 25: The Maharashtra government has asked the Centre about the
possibility of blocking social networking site Facebook following such a
demand from Muslim and Christian organisations.

Muslim and Christian leaders have themselves jointly written to the Prime
Minister, Sonia Gandhi and the Union home ministry demanding immediate
action against Facebook for displaying “blasphemous” pages.

The Pakistan government, following a Lahore High Court order, has blocked
Facebook for inviting its members to post caricatures deemed blasphemous.

Christian groups such as the Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) are upset over
various Facebook pages on Jesus Christ and Christianity.

The Maharashtra additional chief secretary (home), Chandra Iyengar, has
written to Union home secretary G.K. Pillai requesting a ban on Facebook, if
possible. A copy of the letter has been sent to the Indian Computer
Emergency Response Team, a division of the information and technology
ministry.

“We want the government to block Facebook for its irresponsible action. If
the government does not act promptly, we will be left with no option but to
take to the streets,’’ said Sohail Rokadia of the Raza Academy.

The academy, a prominent Mumbai-based Sunni organisation, has taken the
matter up jointly with the CSF.

“The CSF believes that blasphemous pages on any religion should be taken off
the website. Several pages on Facebook are worse than the pages that are
being objected to by Muslims across the world,” said John Dias of the CSF.

“We call upon Facebook to tender an unconditional apology for hurting the
religious sentiments of millions of followers of different faiths. Such
blasphemous material on the Internet has dangerous law-and-order
consequences, particularly in the East. It disturbs peace and harmony in an
already communally sensitive situation.”
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