Congress President Rahul Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Home Ministry’s decision to give sweeping powers to ten investigating agencies to intercept any information on computers.
In a tweet, Gandhi called Modi an “insecure dictator” and said, “Converting India into a police state isn’t going to solve your problems, Modi Ji.”
BJP President Amit Shah hit back at Gandhi and said, “There were only 2 insecure dictators in the history of India.”
Alluding to the phase of Emergency, he said, “One imposed the emergency and the other wanted unrestricted access to read letters of common citizens.”
Making a Mountain Where a Molehill Doesn’t Exist: Jaitley
Amid criticism and concerns raised in the Lok Sabha over the Home Ministry’s decision, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “On 20 December, same order of authorisation was repeated that was existing since 2009. You are making a mountain where a molehill does not exist.”
Jaitley was responding to Congress leader Anand Sharma who said that the order was against the right to privacy, which was a fundamental right.
“The government has done it by stealth and we collectively oppose it. This gives unlimited powers to all these agencies to monitor every information that interest them and complete surveillance which is unacceptable in democracy,” he said.
‘From Modi Sarkar to Stalker Sarkar’: Oppn Hits Out
Twitter went abuzz with Opposition leaders slamming the Modi government's move as unconstitutional, undemocratic and an assault on fundamental rights.
“From Modi sarkar to stalker sarkar, clearly the string of losses has left the BJP government desperate for information,” the Congress said on its official Twitter handle.
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said the government was brazenly flouting privacy laws.
The order authorises Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and other agencies to intercept, monitor, and decrypt “any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer”.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram compared the situation to “Orwellian state” and said, “If anybody is going to monitor the computer, including your computer, that is the Orwellian state. George Orwell is around the corner. It is condemnable.”
Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav termed the order unconstitutional and said the present government should refrain from making such moves with just a few months left for the general elections.
"This government has only a few months left and it should not dig potholes for itself as a new government will be installed in the Centre soon," he said.
TMC's Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said the move was “draconian” while the RJD's Manoj Jha said that it was a cause of concern for not just parliamentarians, but for every Indian.
According to the order, the subscriber or service provider or any person in charge of the computer resource will be bound to extend all facilities and technical assistance to the agencies. Failing to do so will invite seven-year imprisonment and fine.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)