UPA tracked 9000 calls per month: BJP uses RTI reply to blunt Congress onslaught

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra showed that in two RTI replies the UPA government in August 2013 had said that on an average its agencies intercepted 9000 telephone calls and 500 emails a month.

It had also listed 10 agencies which did the monitoring - Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, CBDT Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, CBI, NIA, RA&W, Directorate of Signal Intelligence, DG Police of concerned state and Commissioner of Delhi.

"Tell me how is this different from the December 20 order? The only difference is that the December 20 (order) was legally notified by the central government while the UPA had not notified it and upon an RTI they had released the list. These 10 agencies were working even at that time. They were snooping on 9000 telephone calls and 500 emails every month and Congress is accusing others of snooping?

 "The political party which enforced emergency, the party which brought the post office amendment bill how can that political party level such charges against another party? The Congress party for its opportunism has gone to the extent of playing with national security" he alleged.

The decision to intercept anybody's computer can be invoked only in matters of national integrity and security, public order and friendly relations with other countries, the government has said.

The earlier mechanism was not defined and it has now been made robust and accountable, it claimed

The Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA) order allowing 10 agencies to monitor any computer resource is unconstitutional and will get challenged in court soon, said senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Sunday.

 

Alleging that the latest directive will be misused by the enforcement agencies, Sibal told ANI, "They gave this power to Delhi Commissioner of Police, CBDT. Earlier, the right was given to the MHA only. Now they've given this right to every institution. After the privacy judgement, Supreme Court had said that privacy is a human right. I think it is an unconstitutional decision and it will get challenged in court soon because if you give Commissioner of police this power, he will use it. These powers will be misused in the same way the enforcement agencies misuse other powers."

Calling the order an attack on democracy ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leader said, "Home Secretary is their own man. Whoever makes an intervention, be it CBDT, Commissioner of Police, Home Secretary will give his stamp on it. If it goes to Home Secretary, he will put his stamp and these powers can be delegated as well. These can be given to different organisations, other states. This is a bad step. They have been attacking democracy daily and will continue to do so because 2019 is approaching."

Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, "The Ministry has already issued a clarification. I can't say anything on it right now as the Parliament is in session. If I am asked, I will speak on it in the Parliament."

On December 21, the Centre clarified that every individual case will continue to require the prior approval of Union Home Ministry or the state government.
"Union Home Affairs Ministry has not delegated its power to any law enforcement or security agencies," the Central government clarified.

"The notification does not confer any new powers and adequate safeguards are provided in the IT Act 2000," the government further said, stating that similar provisions and procedures already exist in the Telegraph Act along with identical safeguards.