The Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party Government’s reported decision to purchase surveillance equipment came under fire from the Opposition on Sunday, which claimed that it could be misused to browbeat political opponents. The Government, however, maintained that buying such equipment was part of routine exercise keeping in mind security issues.
As a part of its State action plan for 2014-15, the Parkash Singh Badal-led Punjab Government had earlier reportedly placed order for room bugs, button cameras and other equipment including digital voice recorders, audio-video surveillance equipment, heavy duty digital cameras, among others. Adviser to Chief Minister on National Affairs Harcharan Bains said that the kind of security threats the country faces, Governments of all States have to be well-equipped to face challenges that come before it.
“Governments have to rely on it (surveillance equipment) for security considerations and Punjab — being a border State — we keep receiving various inputs from Government of India (on security threats),” he said. “Even routinely, the police department need latest technologies for intelligence gathering apparatus. It’s a part of the routine exercise of building up the State’s responses to threat to peace,” he added.
The State Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa questioned the need of buying such equipment. “Whom are they trying to bugIJ Are they trying to find the officials who are corruptIJ It is the most corrupt government that India has ever seen after Independence,” Bajwa said. “They are throwing crores of rupees into this kind of surveillance, just to browbeat the media and political opponents...people in Punjab know very well. This is the kind of government which cannot pay even old age pensions and on the other hand, they are spending crores of rupees on buying these kinds of equipment,” he said.
Reacting to charges that surveillance equipment could be misused to browbeat political opponents, Bains said that if the Opposition could provide proof of misuse, they would look into it. “There is no question of misuse. But if there are any instances of misuse and that allegation is based on evidence provided to us, then the government will surely look into it on the basis of merit and evidence,” said Bains.