Meta removes Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis’s video inviting Hindus to Mumbai Congress; organisers allege bias

MUMBAI: A video of Maharashtra chief minister

Devendra Fadnavis inviting Hindus to attend the World Hindu Congress (WHC) in Mumbai was restricted in India and removed again after being re-uploaded, prompting the event’s organisers to seek government intervention and question Meta’s content moderation policies.

The World Hindu Congress 2026 organising committee has written to the Mumbai and Delhi police and the Union ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), seeking an explanation for the action and an inquiry into whether it complied with applicable laws and rules. The organisers have alleged possible bias against Hindu-related content, but the allegation has not been independently established.

According to the committee, the video was posted on Facebook, Instagram and other platforms on October 26. Within hours, access to it in India was restricted through a notification citing legal requirements under applicable information technology rules. After the organisers re-uploaded it that night, the video was removed again on October 27.

The committee said Meta had referred to legal requirements without identifying the specific statutory provision or platform policy invoked.

It has separately written to the company seeking a formal explanation, restoration of the video and an assurance that content moderation rules will be applied consistently, without religious or ideological bias.

The dispute raises questions about the transparency of platform decisions to restrict online content, particularly when the stated grounds are not accompanied by specific legal references in the notification received by the affected party. However, the organisers’ statement does not establish whether the action followed a government direction, a legal order or Meta’s own content moderation process. Meta’s response was not included in the statement.

The video invites participants to Mumbai for the three-day congress, scheduled from December 18 to 20. Maharashtra is hosting the event, whose theme is

Samanam Vratam Saha Chittam, meaning shared resolve and collective determination.

Organised by the World Hindu Foundation, the congress is an initiative of Swami Vigyananand, joint general secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. It will feature seven parallel conferences on the economy, education, media, politics, women, youth and Hindu organisations, with participation capped at 4,000 registered delegates.

Previous editions were held in New Delhi in 2014, Chicago in 2018 and Bangkok in 2023. Those listed by the organisers as having confirmed participation in the Mumbai edition include RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Fadnavis, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council member Sanjeev Sanyal, NSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan, ReNew founder-chairman Sumant Sinha and lyricist Manoj Muntashir.