Meta India issued an apology on Wednesday for Mark Zuckerberg's comment suggesting that the incumbent government in India lost power in the 2024 elections. The company described it as an "inadvertent error." The apology came after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who leads the parliamentary panel on IT, announced that he would summon Meta's officials over the comment. 

"Mark Zuckerberg's observation that many incumbent parties were not re-elected in the 2024 elections holds true for several countries, BUT not India. We would like to apologise for this inadvertent error. India remains an incredibly important country for Meta, and we look forward to being at the heart of its innovative future," Shivnath Thukral, Meta India's Vice President, wrote in a reply to a post from Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on social media site X.

Nishikant Dubey reposted Thukral's reply, claiming that the apology was a "victory of the common citizens" of India. "The Indian Parliament and government have the blessings and trust of 1.4 billion people. An official from Meta India has finally apologised for their mistakes. This victory belongs to the common citizens of India," Dubey wrote. He emphasised that the House panel would call Meta and other social media platforms for discussions on different issues in the future. "Narendra Modi has been elected as Prime Minister for the third time. The people have introduced the country's strongest leadership to the world. We will summon these social platforms on other matters in the future," the BJP MP said.

Zuckerberg, the owner of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, claimed that the majority of incumbent governments, including the Indian government, had been thrown out of office following the Covid-19 outbreak during an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. BJP MPs and Union ministers including Ashwini Vaishnaw were quick to point out the Meta CEO's mistake and demand an apology. "People of India reaffirmed their trust in the NDA led by PM Narendra Modi's leadership... Zuckerberg's claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect," Vaishnaw tweeted.