Amid speculations of British data consultant Cambridge Analytica's (CA) intervention in the Indian politics, co-founder of its go-to company in India-- Strategic Communications Laboratories (SCL)-- said that the firm played a significant role ahead of 2014 elections.
In an interview to the NDTV, Avnish Rai said that there could have been a posible plot to influence voters.
Rai, who is a listed director of the 6-year-old company along with JDU leader's son Amrish Tyagi, were then already partners in another firm Ovleno Business Intelligence (OBI) that engaged in political management.
A scandal erupted last weekend when a whistleblower revealed that British data consultant CA had created psychological profilesof 50 million Facebook users via a personality prediction app.
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Two years ahead of Lok Sabha Elections in 2012, CA's CEO Alexander Nix tried to pitch his voters' management plan to the Congress which went to an advanced stage, claimed Rai. However, Nix's motives remained ambiguous as the questionaire he prepared for the voters relied heavily on events pertaining to UPA era scam, said the report.
Avneesh Rai claimed that when his team questioned the anti-Congress slant in the surveys, he was told: "we are here to defeat the Congress".
"The subsequent events implied that the parent company already had a client before Congress pitch," Rai told the news channel. His testimony spotlights the connection of CA and both Congress and its rival political party BJP.
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Both the parties, have however denied any such collusion.
Law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has warned Facebook of "stringent action". He also alleged that Congress party had links with Cambridge Analytica.
"My question to Congress party is whether to win elections, Congress will depend on data manipulation and theft of data," he said. "What is the role of Cambridge Analytica in social media profile of Rahul Gandhi?" he asked.
Quoting reports, Prasad alleged that Cambridge Analytica -- the agency roped in by Congress to run their 2019 campaign and termed as their 'Brahmastra' in certain sections of media -- is accused of using bribes, sex workers to entrap politicians and stealing data from Facebook.
Prasad sought to know from the Congress party as to how much data trade it had with Cambridge Analytica in view of recent Gujarat and North East elections, and the upcoming elections in Karnataka.
Congress retaliated by saying that the BJP has used the firm for manipulating voters.
