Government agency tried to change Nehru’s profile on Wikipedia, claims Congress

The Congress on Wednesday said that "mischievous" changes were made in Wikipedia pages related to former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru through a government of India IP address.

“Wikipedia pages of Jawaharlal Nehru and Motilal Nehru were altered. What is worse (is) it was done from a government Internet Protocol address and from National Informatics Centre,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Digital India week on Wednesday, the Congress hit out at the government saying an attempt was made from within the National Informatics Centre, the government’s web services organisation, to alter the profile of Jawaharlal Nehru on Wikipedia. The Congress asked whether the government agency could have done such a thing without approval from the highest level.

The Congress demanded an inquiry and asked the Prime Minister and the Information Technology Minister to explain and lodge a criminal case under relevant provisions of the IT Act and the Indian Penal Code. It also sought an apology from the NIC, IT Minister and the PM.

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“A deliberate, sinister and malicious attempt was made to alter the Wikipedia pages of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former president of Indian National Congress and his father Motilal Nehru and his father Gangadhar by showing or attempting to show that their lineage was not the ‘Kaul’ of Jammu & Kashmir but Muslim.

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“What makes the case very serious is that this attempt was done not only from a government IT and Internet protocol with government address but from NIC, the software solution provider of the Government of India,” Congress’s Randeep Surjewala said.

He said while Prime Minister Modi is launching Digital India, the agency responsible for it is altering the lineage of Nehru, former Congress presidents and their ancestors. “Will the Prime Minister answer to the nation, how the Internet protocol of the Government of India and the NIC were being used for this sinister malicious attempt? Will Prime Minister and the Minister in charge answer whether such a sinister attempt was made with their consent and concurrence,” he said.

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