OPPOSITION CALLS ORDER 'UNCONSITUTIONAL'

Yet again Rahul does fear-mongering and plays politics with national security. UPA put no barriers on unlawful sur… https://t.co/ceZVeJIjUd — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) 1545398506000

There were only 2 insecure dictators in the history of India. One imposed emergency and the other wanted unrestric… https://t.co/qj5loiYYYI — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) 1545398480000

Arun Jaitley responds on snoopgate row

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday defended its recent order to authorise 10 central agencies to intercept "any information" on computers , saying the authorisation was given under old rules. The opposition was, however, up in arms over the issue.Responding to Congress leader Anand Sharma's charge in the Rajya Sabha, finance minister Arun Jaitley said it would have been better if the opposition had obtained all the information before raising the issue. "On December 20, same order of authorisation was repeated that was existing since 2009. You are make a mountain where a molehill does not exist," Jaitley said."When senior members from opposition raise an issue every word spoken by them has precious value and therefore they must know facts," Jaitley told the House.He said the rules under which agencies have been authorised to intercept were framed in 2009 when the Congress-led UPA government was in power. The authorisation has been issued under the same rules. Since the Act has been in place these orders of authorisation are repeated from time to time, he stated.The order issued late on Thursday night authorises 10 agencies such as the Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to intercept, monitor, and decrypt “any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource under the said Act (section 69 of the IT Act, 2000).” The order was passed by the 'cyber and information security' division of the Union home ministry under the authority of home secretary Rajiv Gauba.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.The opposition has called the order 'unconstitutional, undemocratic and an assault on fundamental rights'. Parties including the CPM, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Trinamool Congress said they would collectively oppose the home ministry's order, adding that the BJP government was converting the country into a surveillance state."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.The Congress president alleged that the government is trying to convert the country into a "police state".But the government was quick to hit back.BJP president Amit Shah immediately hit back at Rahul's barb. In a series of tweets, he accused the Congress president of "fear mongering" and playing politics with national security.Section 69 of the IT Act deals with the "power to issue directions for interception or monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer resource". It provides that the central government or a state government or any of its officers can direct any agency to intercept or decrypt any information for the purpose of national security.According to the government, the recent notification does not confer any new powers. Adequate provisions are provided in the IT Act 2000. Similar provisions and procedures already exist in the Telegraph Act along with identical safeguards. The present notification is analogous to the authorisation issued under the Telegraph Act. The entire process is also subject to a robust review mechanism as in case of the Telegraph Act.In 2009, the UPA government had brought the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009 to define the procedure and safeguards for such interception.According to these rules, ‘no person shall carry out the interception or decryption of any information except by an order issued by the competent authority’. It also states that‘the competent authority may authorise an agency of the government to intercept or decrypt information.However, although the UPA government made it compulsory that only authorised agencies can carry out surveillance, it did not specifically name the authorised agencies, which left the ruling open to misuse for unlawful and illegal surveillance.In its recent order, the present Modi government has made the ruling more specific - authorising 10 agencies for the purpose of surveillance for national security -- the Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency, Cabinet Secretariat (R&AW), Directorate of Signal Intelligence (For service areas of Jammu & Kashmir, North-East and Assam only) and Commissioner of Police, Delhi.The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said this will ensure that any interception, monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer resource is done as according to the law. Every individual case will continue to require prior approval of the home ministry or the state government, the MHA stated, also clarifying that it has not delegated its powers to any law enforcement or security.