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NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday committed itself to keeping the internet accessible to all with telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asserting that the government agrees with the view that blocking and deliberate slowing down/speeding up of lawful content on internet should not be allowed to give users unrestricted access.Responding to a discussion on net neutrality initiated by Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien, the minister said the government's stand is regardless of the recommendations of telecom regulator Trai and indicated that the option of incorporating net neutrality in the licensing conditions is open, even if he is speaking "hypothetically.""Let me off-hand say with my legal experience, we have got a proper licensing condition when we give any license to any telecom service operator. Terms and conditions are mentioned in the license itself. Suppose — it is purely hypothetical; I am not giving my final view — the government comes out with structured guidelines laying down the principles on net neutrality. It can make those guidelines as a part of the licensing condition itself. It is only a hypothetical proposition that I am saying. But all these options are open." Prasad said in Rajya Sabha.Stressing that Trai has the power to regulate tariff and quality of service, Prasad said its regulations are subject to the overall public policy of the government. “The government has sufficient powers under the Trai Act to invoke national policy objectives to give direction to Trai,” he said.Since Trai issued the consultation paper on March 27, there has been a viral crusade by campaigners for net neutrality — the principle that all traffic on the internet should be treated equally.“Government stands for ensuring non-discriminatory access to internet for all citizens of the country and current debate on net neutrality should be seen from this perspective while resolving the issues harmoniously and consistent with constitutional and economic principles,” the minister said.It was evident that the government had not taken kindly to Trai making public the email ids of over 10 lakh users who had submitted their views to it as part of the consultation. Responding to issue raised by members cutting across party lines, Prasad said, “The privacy issue, the e-mail ids ought to have been safeguarded, is a question to be considered. I take note of that. In my own way I will try to convey.”Prasad said the implications of net neutrality would need detailed examination by experts with regard to traffic management, national security, integrity of network and investment in infrastructure.“The debate in India has gathered over the suo motu consultation paper issued by Trai which asked for responses to a number of questions concerning the regulation of OTT (over-the-top) players,” he said. “If the issue did not have nuances to it, why then would experts and regulators all over the world be breaking their heads over it.”He said the committee constituted to recommend overall policy on net neutrality is likely to submit its report by month-end.Telecom companies that support the Trai paper have argued that data-intensive applications, or the over-the-top services like Facebook , Twitter, Instagram etc. require better telecom infrastructure but don't pay for it.Unlike Lok Sabha which witnesses a government-opposition clash after Rahul Gandhi spoke on the issue a fortnight back, the issue brought members from both sides together in the upper House.BJP MP Tarun Vijay drew parallel of fight for net neutrality with Mahatma Gandhi's salt agitation during the freedom struggle and dubbed telecom companies as “Shylock” and “sharks”. Derek O' Brien accused Trai of compromising with the privacy of people by putting out the mail IDs of those who gave their suggestions to its consultation paper.The Modi government's Digital India programme is designed to bridge the divide between digital haves and have-nots, the IT minister said.