New Delhi, Jan 13 Union IT and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday expressed "disappointment" over a recent claim made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking on Joe Rogan's podcast, Zuckerberg suggested that "incumbents basically lost every single election in 2024", making an indirect reference to India.
Zuckerberg's comments on the podcast reflected his belief that there was a global decline in trust in governments following the Covid-19 pandemic.
He attributed this decline in public trust to factors such as inflation, economic policies related to the pandemic, and the general handling of Covid-19 by governments worldwide.
In his view, this dissatisfaction contributed to the loss of incumbents in elections around the world.
In response to Zuckerberg's remarks, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took to the social media platform X to set the record straight, particularly with regard to India’s 2024 elections.
He strongly contested Zuckerberg's claim, highlighting that the BJP-led NDA coalition's victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was "decisive" and demonstrated strong governance and public trust.
Ashwini Vaishnaw wrote in his post: "As the world's largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. People of India reaffirmed their trust in NDA led by PM @narendramodi Ji’s leadership."
He further asserted: "Mr. Zuckerberg's claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect."
Ashwini Vaishnaw also highlighted several key achievements under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including free food distribution to 800 million people, the administration of 2.2 billion free vaccines, and India's role in providing aid to other nations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"From free food for 800 million, 2.2 billion free vaccines, and aid to nations worldwide during COVID, to leading India as the fastest-growing major economy, PM Modi's decisive 3rd-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust," the Union Minister wrote.
Ashwini Vaishnaw concluded his remarks with a call to uphold facts and credibility, stating: "It's disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself. Let's uphold facts and credibility."
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