A political row erupted after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi’s Instagram reel and photo with Tamilga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay were temporarily blocked on the platform.
The Congress claimed the posts were removed due to rules set by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), a charge denied by government sources.
Gandhi’s aide and former Youth Congress national campaign head, Srivatsa, said the reel had garnered 12 million views in under an hour, while the photo post had already reached 46 million people.
"Meta cites no reason as to why his account has become inaccessible. The 'glitch' is because of MEITY rules! Rahul Gandhi's social media accounts have been suppressed for a long time. His X reach, YouTube views, and Insta followers have all been suppressed," he alleged.
He further accused the ministry of restricting opposition voices.
Instagram has blocked LOP Rahul Gandhi’s reel and pictures post featuring him and Thalapathy Vijay at today’s swearing-in ceremony.
— Srivatsa (@srivatsayb) May 10, 2026
The viral reel had gathered 12 million views in less than a hour and the viral pics post had already reached 46 million people.
Meta cites no…
However, MeitY clarified that it had no role in the action. A ministry source told the media that the platform’s internal system had mistakenly flagged the post, which has since been restored.
Gandhi was in Chennai on Sunday to attend Vijay’s swearing-in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, following Congress support for TVK, which fell 10 seats short of a majority in the 234-member assembly.
