Snooping: AAP calls MHA order ‘draconian’

Tribune News Services

New Delhi, December 21

Joining other opposition parties, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday slammed the Narendra Modi government over the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) vesting snooping powers to central agencies and called it "draconian and an assault on people’s right to privacy".

“India’s been under undeclared emergency since May 2014. Now, in its last couple of months, Modi govt is crossing all limits by seeking control of the citizens' computers. Can such curtailment of fundamental rights be tolerated in world's largest democracy?” the party national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted as an initial reaction to the MHA notification stating that 10 central government agencies have been given the right to investigate computers of any citizen.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP ND Gupta described the order “draconian” claiming “the move to be a direct breach on every citizen’s right to privacy and in contempt of the Supreme Court’s August 2017 verdict of privacy being a fundamental right”.

Gupta alleged that most of the agencies, whose credibility is lost for snooping illegally at the behest of Modi government, will now enjoy "legal impunity" with this order.

The AAP leaders claimed the move also shows the jitteriness of the BJP post its defeat in the recently concluded state elections.

Demanding the order be rolled back, the Delhi's ruling party accused the BJP of "misusing" all the government institutions of the country for its political advantage, be it the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) or others.

Reffering to the recent resignation of the RBI governor, the AAP said, "The situation of the RBI has become so tragic that two successive governors in the RBI left their position after being troubled by the BJP's dictatorship. The same situation remains in the CBI today. The same is true of the rest of the other government institutions in the country."

“We will explore every possible mean to oppose this order and fight tooth and nail to reverse it. Unlike demonetisation disaster, this absolutely anti-people order will not be tolerated in the least,” said Gupta adding India is a democracy and not a dictatorship and it will not be allowed to become one.

Gupta also drew parallels between the latest MHA order and demonetisation step claiming in both cases, Modi government has acted "arbitrarily imposing diktats that subvert democracy" in view of upcoming elections, UP state elections then and Lok Sabha elections now.