Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has termed India’s development of banning 59 Chinese app including immensely popular TikTok a ‘Digital Strike’.The development comes a few days after a bloody clash took place in eastern Ladakh, which claimed the lives of 15 Indian soldiers.
Ravi Shankar Prasad said they banned 59 Chinese app to protect Indian citizen’s data. At a rally in West Bengal today (July 2, 2020), he said that now you can hear only two ‘Cs’— China and Coronavirus.
He re-iterated that if somebody casts an evil eye on India, they will surely be given a befitting reply. He added , “if our 20 jawans have sacrificed their lives, then the toll is double on the Chinese side. You all must have noticed that they have not come out with any figure.”
Also Read | Here’s the complete list of Chinese Apps that India banned
It is to be noted that India was the biggest market for TikTok, contributing 30 per cent of its total download. The move comes at a time when TikTok parent ByteDance had laid out plans to invest $1 billion in India and hired various senior executives since last year.
Besides TikTok, the other Chinese app blocked by the Indian Government include UC Browser, WeChat and CamScanner.
The Indian government’s TikTok account MyGov, which reportedly had 1.1 million followers, has been disabled. Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, has deleted PM Modi’s account at the request of the Indian embassy.
Taking a dig at Mamata Baneejee government, at today’s rally, the Union Minister said, “We are witnessing a strange trend in Bengal; the ruling TMC (Trinamool Congress) had earlier asked why we were not banning the apps, now they want to know why we are banning the apps. This is strange, why can’t they stand with the government at the time of crisis?”