New Delhi, Mar 26 (Agencies): Hours after being accused by the ruling BJP of sharing user data, Congress on Monday took down both its App and the party membership website.
The Congress app is no longer available on Google Playstore. Those clicking on to its membership site are greeted by with the message reading: "We are incorporating minor changes to the website. Please visit us again in a while to access the INC Membership process."
In-charge of BJP's national Information and Technology, Amit Malviya was among the first to react to the Congress pulling down its App.
Malviya further added, "All of you who complained about the surge in anti-BJP and anti-government messages and fake news in recent days on social media, now know who was behind it - an insidious Cambridge Analytica hired by a desperate Congress!"
In earlier tweets on Monday, the BJP IT head had raised "privacy and consent conflicts" in the Congress party's own App.
Union minister Smriti Irani took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, saying he had asked people to delete the NaMo app, instead Congress had deleted their own app. She wrote on Twitter: “Ye kya @RahulGandhi ji it seems your team is doing the opposite of what you asked for. Instead of #DeleteNaMoApp, they have deleted the Congress App itself.” She also said: "@RahulGandhi ji, even ‘Chhota Bheem’ knows that commonly asked permission on Apps don’t tantamount to snooping."
The Congress has been targeting the BJP over the Narendra Modi app of the Prime Minister amid reports that it sent user data to a US-based company without consent. The allegation surfaced alongside a massive scandal over the alleged misuse of personal data of Facebook users by the disgraced research group Cambridge Analytica to help political parties.
On Monday morning too, Congress President Rahul Gandhi continued his attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP with another Tweet, posted with the hashtag #DeleteNaMoApp.
The Congress President further accused Narendra Modi of misusing the Prime Ministerial post to build personal database with intel on millions of Indians via the NaMo App promoted by the government.