Meta India apologised on Wednesday for Mark Zuckerberg’s remarks on the Indian elections, and described it as an “inadvertent error.” This apology comes in the wake of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey saying that the parliamentary panel on communication and information technology would summon the officials of the tech giant to explain Zuckerberg’s remarks.

Earlier, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had criticised Zuckerberg and Meta, calling the remarks “factually incorrect”. Vaishnaw also called on Meta to “uphold fact and credibility”.

Zuckerberg, in a podcast interview, had claimed that incumbent governments in several countries, including India, lost elections in 2024. The Meta boss did not offer any evidence to back his claim.

Meta India’s Vice President Shivnath Thukral issued the apology on behalf of the tech giant.

“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 posted on social media platform X.

Thukral replied to Union IT and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s post on X.

“As the world’s largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. People of India reaffirmed their trust in NDA led by PM @narendramodi Ji’s leadership. Mr. Zuckerberg’s claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect,” said Vaishnaw.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said that the company’s officials would be summoned over the remarks. Dubey also heads the parliamentary panel.

“Misinformation on a democratic country maligns its image. The organisation would have to apologise to the Parliament and the people here for this mistake,” Dubey said in a post on X.

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‘Inadvertent error’: Meta apologises for Mark Zuckerberg’s remark on 2024 election