Twitter reinstates accounts of India's Rahul Gandhi, other opposition leaders

Rahul Gandhi, leader of India's main opposition Congress party, speaks as he attends a protest rally against a new citizenship law, in Guwahati, India, December 28, 2019. REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika/File Photo

MUMBAI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Twitter unblocked the accounts of India's main opposition party Congress, its leader Rahul Gandhi and other party officials on Saturday, days after suspending the accounts over a tweet on the alleged rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl.

Gandhi's account has 19.5 million followers. It was locked after he posted a photograph of himself with the parents of a girl who was allegedly raped and killed in New Delhi on Aug. 1, saying the family deserved justice.

The accounts have been restored after Twitter reviewed Gandhi's submission of formal consent from people depicted in the image, the U.S. social media giant said in an emailed statement, adding that it has withheld the tweet in India.

The tweet is available globally but withheld in India under laws relating to disclosure of the identity of children and victims of sexual assault, according to a notification from Twitter to a Congress leader, and seen by Reuters, after his account was reinstated.

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