BJP warns Twitter of backlash for refusal to appear before House panel

The BJP on Saturday warned Twitter of "repercussions" after the social network company's CEO and top officials declined to appear before the parliamentary committee on information technology, saying no agency has the right to disrespect institutions of the country.

The parliamentary panel had summoned Twitter CEO and officials over the issue of safeguarding citizens' rights on social media platforms.

"In any country, no agency has the right to disrespect the institutions of that country. In this situation, if Twitter is disrespecting the established institution of Parliament, then there are repercussions," BJP spokesperson and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters.

"There are repercussions because in any democratic country, institutions need to be respected by the world powers. If there is any violation of any sort, then there are repercussions to those violations...The institutions need to be respected," she said.

The parliamentary committee, headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, had issued a summon to Twitter via an official letter on February 1.

Its meeting was scheduled for February 7, but was later postponed to February 11 to allow the Twitter CEO and senior officials more time to make themselves available, sources in the panel said.

Twitter cited "short notice of the hearing" as the reason, despite being given 10 days to travel, the sources said.