The Congress alleged on Thursday that its official Twitter handle as well as that of a large number of party leaders and workers have been blocked by the microblogging website, which justified the action saying it has been done for violating rules.

The development comes close on the heels of the blocking of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Twitter handle after he shared pictures of the family of a nine-year-old alleged rape-and-murder victim in Delhi last week in violation of laws.

The party's youth wing chief, Srinivas BV, shared a picture with an orange version of the Twitter logo on the platform and asked it not to act in the safffron party's favour.

He also pointed out the platfrom's hypocrisy on its policies as there were other existing tweets on the following content on the platfor, and no such action had been taken against them.

Twitter, on its part, said the blocking of the accounts of several Congress leaders, including that of Gandhi, was done to protect individual privacy and safety after they posted images that violated its rules.

The Congress accused the website of acting under pressure from the government.

The chief spokesperson of the party, Randeep Surjewala, said the Narendra Modi government will not be able to suppress their voice by threatening Twitter.