The controversial draft encryption policy that has been withdrawn gave a handle to the Opposition to attack the Modi dispensation with Congress saying its intent stands “exposed” and CPI-M dubbing it as ‘Gujarat Snooping Model’. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said it was a tool for “snooping” and reflected the Government’s “totalitarian inclination.”
Alleging that ‘subjugation of individual freedom’, ‘surveillance of the citizen’ and ‘suppression of the dissent’ have emerged as the ‘DNA’ of the Government, the Congress charged that in the last 16 months it has made systematic sinister attempts to quash dissent and undermine individual liberty.
Congress’ chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala said the NDA Government’s “hasty retreat” on the contentious policy reestablished the strength of ‘democratic dissent’ over “Tuglaki firmans”(diktats) and called for united efforts to repulse any move to subjugate individual liberty “again through the backdoor”.
“like in the case of net neutrality, massive public outrage over encryption policy has made the Government take a u-turn momentarily. Intent of the Government, however, stands exposed,” he said at the Press briefing.
Surjewala alleged that the ‘Draft Policy on Encryption’ of Department of Electronic and Information Technology first circulated, then amended and now withdrawn with a rider for re-issuing it, is “a totalitarian, misconceived and a failed attempt of Modi Government”. Congress leader Manish Tewari described the Modi Government as the fascist one.
AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said the draft policy was in violation of the right to personal liberty and the fundamental tenets of freedom of speech and expression. “The draft policy was for snooping. It presupposes that 125 crore people of India are potential criminals. It reflects the inclination of the government and its intention to turn India into a totalitarian state,” Chadha said.
CPI (M) politburo member Brinda Karat alleged in a series of tweets how the Modi Government was trying to implement the ‘Gujarat Snooping Model’ at national-level through the policy. “Gujarat Amit Shah — Saheb snooping Model being brought in through National encryption policy. No way! Hands off WhatsApp. We don’t want Gujarat snooping model. #ModiDontReadMyWhatsapp #SnoopingHabitsDieHard,” the party quoted Karat as saying in a series of tweets.