New Delhi: Facebook in a statement on Sunday said that BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has cancelled his participation in candidates 2014 on Facebook Talks Live. "We are disappointed to announce that Narendra Modi has decided to cancel his participation in Candidates 2014 on Facebook Talks Live. We apologize to the Facebook community and those who submitted questions. We will begin our series starting Tuesday, March 4 at 8pm IST with Arvind Kejriwal as our first guest," said Facebook.
In the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Facebook users would now be able to discuss the electoral agenda of country's top politicians including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal among others from this month.
Facebook users would be able to pose questions directly to key political contenders for 2014 general elections with the launch of a special initiative, 'Facebook Talks Live', by the social networking website.
"In this 'Facebook Talks Live' season, you can ask Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav how they will govern India and what are their priorities and agendas," Public Policy Director (India and South Asia) of Facebook, Ankhi Das, had earlier said in a statement.
Eminent journalist Madhu Trehan would moderate the session by asking questions on behalf of Facebook users, which would also be live-streamed on the website besides being broadcast on a private television channel.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal would be the first guest on the session to whom netizens can ask about his stand on various issues, question about his party's policies and his vision for India.
It is estimated that over 93 million people in India are engaged actively every month on Facebook.
"We have always been focused on making sure that we give people the power to share, and to make the world more open and connected. This and the opportunity to engage actively and regularly with constituents have led campaign teams and leaders to use the medium, making Facebook a core part of the political infrastructure in the country," Das said.
The Facebook official said social engagement is at the core of the website's values and in politics and elections, it is also key to influencing voting behaviours and organising opinion.
Newslaundry issued a statement saying Modi laid down some conditions for the event. Here's the full text of the statement:
Facebook tied up with Newslaundry for a Facebook Talks Live event called Candidates 2014. It is a town-hall format where people through Facebook and a live audience can ask questions of political leaders who could play a role in the formation of the next government. We took it to NDTV to be the channel partner. They agreed. All this was clearly communicated to Mr Modi well over a month ago. Everything was confirmed & scheduled for March 3, 2014.
Invites were sent out and RSVPs were taken. Promos have been running since February 19, 2014 and the Facebook page has been up inviting questions from Facebook users for just as long. Thousands of questions have come in.
Just two days before his interaction, Mr Modi laid down some conditions which we cannot fulfil. Mr Modi then decided to cancel. He is best placed to state the reasons.
(With additional inputs from PTI)
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