As Meta official apologises, Nishikant Dubey says Zuckerberg remarks issue now 'closed'

New Delhi: BJP leader Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday said he treated the matter of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s remarks on Indian elections as "closed" after an official of the social networking platform tendered an apology.

Zuckerberg, in a podcast, had claimed that the incumbent government in India lost power in the 2024 elections due to its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meta India vice president Shivnath Thukral apologised for Zuckerberg's remarks and said it was an "inadvertent error".

"A Meta India official has finally apologised for the mistake. This is a victory of the common citizens of India," Dubey, who chairs the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology, said in a post on X.

भारतीय संसद व सरकार को 140 करोड़ लोगों का आशीर्वाद व जन विश्वास प्राप्त है।@Meta भारत के अधिकारी ने आख़िर अपनी ग़लतियों के लिए क्षमा माँगी है ।यह जीत भारत के आम नागरिकों की है,माननीय प्रधानमंत्री मोदी जी @narendramodi को जनता ने तीसरी बार प्रधानमंत्री बना कर दुनिया के सामने देश… https://t.co/mePVv3v7Bg

— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) January 15, 2025

Dubey had on Tuesday said that the panel will summon the firm following its chairman's comments that India's ruling dispensation lost the Lok Sabha election last year.

On Wednesday, Dubey said people elected Narendra Modi as prime minister for the third consecutive term which was a testimony to his strong leadership.

"Now the responsibility of our committee ends on this issue. We treat this issue as closed. However, we will continue to hold these social platforms to account in the future on other issues," Dubey told PTI.

Earlier, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had called out the remarks made by Zuckerberg on the Joe Rogan podcast. "Mr. Zuckerberg's claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect," Vaishnaw had said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on January 13.

"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," said Vaishnaw, who is Minister for Information and Broadcasting as well as IT.

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.

Mr. Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections,…

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) January 13, 2025

The minister had debunked Zuckerberg's remarks as misinformation, and made it clear that Meta must uphold facts and credibility.