Mumbai: A video of CM Devendra Fadnavis inviting Hindus to attend World Hindu Congress in Mumbai was restricted in India and removed again after being re-uploaded, prompting the event’s organisers to seek govt intervention.World Hindu Congress 2026’s organising committee has written to 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.According to the committee, the video was posted on Facebook, Instagram and other platforms on Monday. Within hours, access to it in India was restricted through a notification citing legal requirements under the applicable Information Technology Rules. The organisers re-uploaded it the same night but the video was removed the next day.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 video invited participants to Mumbai for the three-day event, scheduled from Dec 18-20. Organised by World Hindu Foundation, the event is an initiative of Swami Vigyananand, joint general secretary of 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 Bangkok in 2023, Chicago in 2018 and Delhi in 2014. Those listed by the organisers as having confirmed participation in the Mumbai edition include RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Fadnavis, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, MP CM Mohan Yadav, PM’s economic advisory council member Sanjeev Sanyal, NSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan, ReNew founder-chairman Sumant Sinha and lyricist Manoj Muntashir.
