New Delhi: The opposition on Friday came down heavily on the Modi government for putting all computers under surveillance and demanded the withdrawal of the order saying it was a brazen assault on the citizens fundamental right to privacy and an attempt to create an Orwellian state.
The order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday authorised 10 central security and investigative agencies and the Delhi Police to intercept, monitor and decrypt any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer.
The agencies so authorised include the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) among others.
Expressing alarm over the order, the Congress accused the Modi government of turning India into a “surveillance state” and said the opposition will collectively raise the issue in Parliament.
Taking to twitter, Congress President Rahul Gandhi called Modi an “insecure dictator”.
“Converting India into a police state isn’t going to solve your problems, Modi Ji. It’s only going to prove to over 1 billion Indians what an insecure dictator you really are,” said Gandhi.
“This is a very serious development, through this order the Modi government is turning India into a surveillance state.”
“It is the ultimate assault on the fundamental right to privacy and is in direct conflict with the Supreme Court’s order, which held right to privacy as a fundamental right,” said Congress leader and former Union Minister Anand Sharma.
He also claimed that a host of people including Supreme Court and High Court judges and politicians’ phones were being tapped.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said a “blanket surveillance is bad in law.”
The Communist Party on India (Marxist) (CPI-M) said the order was unconstitutional and demanded it be immediately rescinded.
The politburo, in a statement said “the track record of this government is harassing and persecuting citizens who do not share the RSS/BJP viewpoint” and demanded the MHA order be immediately withdrawn.
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal said India was under “undeclared emergency” since May 2014 when BJP came to power at the Centre.
Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought to defend the move saying the Home Ministry order was only being repeated that existed in 2009 and referred to the “Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information Rules) 2009, under which it was issued.
The 2009 rules arm the government with powers of monitoring and intercepting any computer under Section 69 of The Information Technology Act, 2000.
The provision empowers to monitor and or intercept any computer source if the Central or the state government as the case may be is “satisfied that it is necessary or expedient to do in the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence”. (IANS)
