BJP and Congress accuse one another with links to Cambridge Analytica for 2019 Lok Sabha polls

The BJP today accused the Congress of hiring the services of Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm accused of illegally harvesting Facebook users' details to influence elections in several countries, and wondered if the party would now depend on "data theft" to woo voters.

The Congress, however, denied the charge and instead, accused the ruling party of using the services of the controversial firm. The BJP also rejected the allegation.

Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a scathing attack on the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi as he cited several media reports, which claimed that the New York-based company would work for Gandhi ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The law and IT minister wanted to know how many times did Gandhi meet Cambridge Analytica's now sacked CEO Alexander Nix.

Later, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters that the illegal use of people's data from social media could turn out to be the Congress' "biggest scam" and added that the government would launch a probe into the matter.

"Stealing data from social media is your (Congress) weapon. Cambridge Analytica is now Congress Analytica," he said.

Prasad asked Gandhi to explain the company's role in his social media outreach.

The firm, the Union minister said, was accused of using "sex, sleaze and fake news" to influence elections and asked if the Congress too planned to walk the same path.

"The Congress must explain if it has engaged in data trade with Cambridge Analytica," he said, citing a media report that claimed that the firm's services could be the opposition party's "brahmastra" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the next general elections.

Prasad also warned Facebook of stringent legal action against any misuse of data of its over 200 million Indian users.

The government was in touch with the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice of the USA to assess the privacy violations of the Indian users, he said.

It would also summon the representatives of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook over the data theft of the latter's Indian users and take strictest action, he added.

The Union minister said the number of Gandhi's Twitter followers had shot up recently and wondered if it was due to the services of the firm that the Congress chief achieved this "fake popularity".

"Will the Congress now depend on data manipulation and theft to woo voters?" he asked.

"We have all seen how the Congress tried to divide the society in Gujarat only in order to win an election. We are witnessing what they are doing in Karnataka. This is straight out of the Cambridge Analytica playbook," Prasad added.

He also asked the Congress whether it had taken any action after the "damning revelations" about Cambridge Analytica were made public and how much "stolen data" was in possession of the party.

"How much data of the Indian users has the Congress handed over to the company?" the Union minister asked.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asks the BJP leaders to remain digitally and physically connected with the masses, but the Congress seems to be depending on the digital medium to make up for its lack of connect on the ground, he said.

It is not a question of liaison between the Congress and a data firm, but about attempts to influence democratic processes, which his government would not allow, Prasad said and warned Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg against any data abuse of Indians on the social media platform.

Patra rejected the Congress' allegation that it was the BJP and Modi who had hired the services of Cambridge Analytica during the previous Lok Sabha election and said over 1,000 websites and 10,000 individuals had claimed to have played a role in the saffron party's victory in the 2014 polls. "We have nothing to hide," the BJP spokesperson said.