JD(U) has asked its leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar, KC Tyagi for an explanation on reports of his son’s firm’s partnership with the controversial Cambridge Analytica that has been under scanner for data breach.
JD(U) has asked its leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar, KC Tyagi for an explanation on reports of his son’s firm’s partnership with the controversial Cambridge Analytica that has been under scanner for data breach.
Tyagi’s son, Amrish Tyagi, is the managing director the Cambridge Analytica’s India partner Ovleno Business Intelligence (OBI).
The partner company has allegedly helped BJP and JD(U) win the to win Bihar Assembly elections in 2010 when JD(U) and BJP alliance had won the polls.
The data breach by Cambridge Analytica which has affected at least 50 million users has reached the doors of Janata Dal (United). It lists the BJP, Congress and JDU as its clients, PTI reports.
KC Tyagi told ANI, “JDU has no relation with #CambridgeAnalytics , neither has its CEO ever met Nitish ji nor me. In any case JDU is a Socialist outfit and we stay away from such things, except for maybe Prashant Kishore ji helping us during last assembly polls.”
He told ANI, “There was only a work relation between my son Amrish's company and CambridgeAnalytics , there is no financial transaction or shareholding, everything is open to probe. JDU also has no links with this,neither did they promote us in 2010 polls.”
Rashtriya Janta Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav has questioned JD(U), Nitish Kumar stance on “zero tolerance” as he had venerated at the time ofhis father, and old ally, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s scam. He told ANI, “There is a difference in what they say and what they do.”
It is reported by Firstpost that Cambridge Analytics' and JD(U) are related since 2010. OBI’s website was suspended on Wednesday after the Cambridge Analytics on its website claimed that it has rigged Bihar Elections when JD(U) and BJP alliance had won the polls.
Cambridge Analytica and Facebook are under radar of various nations for allegedly harvesting personal data of Facebook users to influence elections in several countries including US presidential elections.