'Law of land is supreme, Twitter must follow rule,' says new IT Minister

Echoing his predecessor's thoughts on the subject, newly appointed Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said Twitter must follow IT Rules.

Taking oath at the Ministry on Thursday morning, Vaishnaw said, “Law of land is supreme, Twitter must follow rule.”

The 51-year old took charge as the IT, Communications and Railways minister on Thursday, a day after the Cabinet reshuffle.

His predecessor, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who took over as the IT minister in 2014, resigned on Wednesday after a seven-year stint. One of his most consistent messages to big technology firms was to follow the law of the land.

Vaishnaw, a member of Parliament since 2019, studied Masters in Technology at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1992-94, and went on to get a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from The Wharton School in 2008-10.

He was the Collector of Cuttack in 2001-03, a Deputy secretary in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Prime Minister Office from 2003-04, Deputy chairman at the Mormugao Port Trust, Goa (December 2006-08).

His extensive experience in the public and private sector has been seen as the reason for choosing him to head the three important portfolios.

Vaishnaw reiterated this message, and said anyone who is an Indian citizen and works in India, has to follow the laws of the country.

The industry is however in wait and watch mode and said it was too early to say what the new minister's priorities will be. "It doesn;t look like there will be much change in the stand of the government with respect to technology policy," said an executive at a big technology firm.

Another executive said,"No one is opposed to sensible regulation." 

During his time as collector of Balasore district, Vaishnaw is credited with helping reduce the casualties in the super cyclone in Odisha (then Orissa) in 1999. He helped collect information about the cyclone's trajectory from a US Navy website, which he sent to the state's chief secretary. This information helped the state government take measures to reduce the death toll.

A member of Parliament since 2019, Vaishnaw studied Masters in Technology at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur inn 1992-94, and went on to get a masters in business administration in Finance from The Wharton School in 2008-10.

He was the Collector of Cuttack in 2001-03, a Deputy secretary in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Prime Minister Office from 2003-04, Deputy chairman at the Mormugao Port Trust, Goa (December 2006-08). 

He has also worked at global organisations such as GE and Siemens. He is also a businessman who has worked in the auto industry. He set up four units in Gujarat that made components for Suzuki, Honda and Hero.

His extensive experience in the public and private sector has been seen as the reason for choosing him to head the three important portfolios.