New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "fighting his own citizens" amid the ongoing controversy over the Centre's scrutiny of Meta regarding content moderation and platform accountability.

In a post on X, Kejriwal alleged that the Prime Minister was "making laws to protect himself from citizens of India" and claimed that public sentiment had shifted due to issues such as alleged paper leaks and the rollout of E20 fuel.

"Prime Minister of India is now fighting his own citizens. Making laws to protect himself from citizens of India. His own erstwhile cheerleaders are fast turning against him after becoming victims of paper leaks, E20 etc.," Kejriwal wrote.

His remarks came amid reports that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had apologised to the Indian government over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Modi's Facebook video, as well as concerns related to Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), deepfake content, and content moderation on Meta platforms.

According to sources, the issue was discussed during a meeting between a senior Meta delegation led by Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary S. Krishnan. During the meeting, Meta reportedly explained that the removal of the Prime Minister's video was due to an operational error.

The controversy has also attracted the attention of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, which has sought an apology from Meta over the incident and warned that the company could face regulatory action if serious violations are established.

The Indian government is also examining allegations related to the promotion of illegal content, including Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) and deepfake content on Meta platforms. Officials have indicated that the company may be asked to provide further clarifications as the inquiry continues.

Meta has not publicly commented in detail beyond its earlier explanation that the removal of the Prime Minister's video resulted from a technical error. The matter remains under regulatory scrutiny.