Indian Government Wiretapping Opposition Leaders?
Outlook India has published an article that indicates that the Indian government was listening to phone conversations of prominent opposition leaders and also an air defense commander. According to the report an intelligence agency called the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO) used GSM monitoring devices to tap the phone conversations.
The Indian government has strongly denied these reports. The Home Minister P Chidambaram stated that “I wish to state categorically that no telephone tapping or eavesdropping on political leaders was authorized by the previous UPA Government. Nor has the present UPA Government authorized any such activity”. But the government has made a few statements subsequently about this report that seems to indicate that it is distancing itself from the Home Ministers original response.
The government has announced that it is conducting a probe but defended the right of revenue and enforcement agencies to intercept calls on suspicion of tax evasion. The government has also indicated that it is reviewing whether an agency like the NTRO should be reporting to the Home Ministry. Is the government trying to say that opposition leaders were put under surveillance because of suspicion of tax evasion? Should an intelligence agency created to protect national security waste their time on tracking tax evaders?
By taking of tax evasion which is a hot button issue, the government is trying to distract the public from the real issue. No one disputes the right of the government to monitor phone conversations. But the question is whether the government followed the legal provisions guaranteed under the Indian constitution before the phone tapping began. According to P Chidambaram (Home Minister) any case of electronic monitoring should be personally approved by the Union Home Secretary and is subject to review by an Oversight Committee.
Many Indians would not be surprised if these allegations are true. The Congress Party and its leaders since our independence from Briton have run the country as if they own the country. The party structure itself is very feudal and undemocratic. Members of the Gandhi family have run this party for most of the past 65 years. Can the Congress Party find anybody not named Gandhi to run this party?
This lack of respect to democratic processes within the party also manifests itself when the Congress Party gets an opportunity to lead the country. They have amended the Indian constitution so many times that the current Indian constitution has very little in common with the principles of the founding fathers of India. Instead of stepping down after 28 years of rule the Congress under Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in 1975. The various branches of government were used as tools to achieve their political goals.
The current wire tapping of opposition leaders, air force commanders and Chief Ministers shows the lack of regard for the democratic process, for the laws of the land and for the individual’s privacy.
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Category: News & Government