Amidst the Government of India-Twitter row associated with blocking certain accounts and tweets, Mahima Kaul has resigned from the position of Head, Public Policy and Government Partnerships, India at Twitter, Inc. citing ‘personal reasons’. However, sources and media reports confirm that the two incidents are unrelated.
Job listings at the official website of Twitter show that the micro-blogging site has been looking at potential applications for Kaul’s position since 10 days. Kaul will continue to work till the end of March in order to provide necessary support during the transition.
Monique Meche, VP Public Policy, Twitter, told IANS, “At the start of this year, Mahima Kaul decided to step down from her position to take a well-deserved break. It’s a loss for all of us at Twitter, but after more than five years in the role, we respect her desire to focus on the most important people and relationships in her personal life.”
That said, Twitterati wasn’t convinced with the official reason for Kaul’s resignation. #MahimaPleaseDontGo continued to trend on Twitter the next morning with over 18,000 tweets. Verified accounts of Indian politicians such as @PMLUCKNOW, @MLA_TriveniRam alleged foul play and management pressure as they tagged @misskaul in tweets and replies.
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Mahima Kaul has served as Twitter’s Public Policy Head for five years. Previously, she has worked at different positions in reputed organizations including Observer Research Foundation, Index of Censorship Magazine, The Indian Express, and The Open Communication Foundation.
Twitter has not disclosed the name of her successor as of now. On the other hand, after #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide started trending, the government directed Twitter to remove objectionable content in the wake of the ongoing farmer protests and warned the company of penal action, if it failed to comply. This reaction has sparked a debate amidst netizens on who should control the internet and free speech between government and private players.
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