Author: Express news service
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: December 6, 2010
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/were-entitled-to-intercept-such-conversations/720797/0
When the Niira Radia tapes first surfaced,
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on April
29, had justified tapping of her phone even as he asserted that the government
was not in the habit of listening into people's conversations. "If a
particular person's telephone conversation has been intercepted by the Income
Tax Department, I state with authority, it has been done only under proper
authorisation... We are entitled to intercept such conversations if they relate
to tax evasion, or if they related to any commercial transactions which deserve
to be investigated," Chidambaram said in the Upper House, in reference
to the Radia tapes.
In the light of the 2G Spectrum allocation
scam, Parliament had been rocked by the tapes. What added fuel to the fire
were reports that phones of ministers had been tapped.
While responding to a short-duration discussion
on the "Alleged tapping of telephones of certain politicians affecting
probity in public life and government's reaction in this regard," Chidambaram
said: "An impression was created as though telephones are being tapped
only in the UPA government. I think anyone who has been in the government
knows that it is not correct." It had been so "between 1999 and
2004" (during the NDA regime)".
In an allusion to the Radia tapes, Chidambaram
said: "There are reports of alleged conversations. I don't know whether
that is right or wrong and, therefore, I said in my statement, 'Further enquires
are being made into the allegations in magazine'." If any evidence was
discovered, he said, the matter would be investigated.
Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley, who
had initiated the discussion, took a strong stand against phone-tapping, saying
it was a "limited" and not "absolute" power. And that
under the law, should be allowed only "on the occurrence of any public
emergency, or in the interest of public safety". Said the senior BJP
leader: "In our Constitutional scheme, he (Chidambaram) will appreciate
that privacy is now recognised as an integral part of individual liberty."
Referring to the government's explanation on the politicians whose phones
had been tapped - that the conversations had just got "picked up"
because of an advanced technology - Jaitley said: "...what appears to
be happening now is that in a completely unauthorised manner, there is a system,
where an individual's liberty can be eroded, phones can be indefinitely bugged,
and the government can put on an innocent face and say, 'Look, I did not authorise
it, or the technology is such that it starts bugging in spite of my orders'."
Quoting from the Indian Telegraphs Act of
1885, the BJP leader said: "There is no such power to say that so and
so is an offender and, therefore, I am entitled to bug his phone... You cannot
even say that somebody is a likely economic offender. You cannot say that
somebody is a bad character and, so, you would bug his phone... You cannot
infringe upon the liberty of a citizen by saying that my vehicle carrying
an equipment was driving fast and I, by mistake, bugged somebody else's phone.
Then, the technology you have purchased dismantles the Indian Constitution."
CPM leader Sitaram Yechury asked why the government
was not acting on information gathered from what it called "duly authorised
tapping". "Information from authorised and legal tapping is not
used to pursue and clean the system but information from illegal and unauthorised
tapping is used to score political points!"
AIADMK leader V Maitreyan gave another spin
to the controversy by alleging his own phone was being tapped. "Not only
that... according to a report, even the number of the Union Minister Dayanidhi
Maran was under surveillance," he alleged.
Telugu Desam member Mysura Reddy mentioned
Radia and said he had written to the Prime Minister on the issue. He added:
"We are not afraid of tapping. You should start it with Cabinet Ministers,
Treasury Benches and the ruling party."
