Phone tapping will continue, but govt. will prevent leakage and misuse: Prime Minister
merisarkar news service
New Delhi, December 14, 2010
Will prevent misuse of tapping: PM
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has asked the Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrashekhar to look into the corporate phone tapping case and submit his report in one month's time.
Inaugurating the Corporate Week 2010 in New Delhi on Tuesday morning, Dr. Manmohan Singh said, "I am aware of the nervousness in some sections of the corporate sector arising out of the powers conferred upon Governmental authorities to tap phones for protecting national security and preventing tax evasion and money laundering. While these powers are needed in the world that we live in, they have to be exercised with utmost care and under well defined rules, procedures and mechanisms so that they are not misused."
He further elaborated, "We must also look for solutions through technology to prevent access of telephone conversation to systems outside the institutional framework of government. Legal mechanisms already exist and they are in place. They need to be strengthened for more effective enforcement. I am asking the Cabinet Secretary to look into these issues and report back to the Cabinet within the next one month."
However, while assuring the corporate sector over the issue of phone tapping, he also reminded them to follow certain ethics. Prime Minister said, "I am sure our business leaders are aware that business practices of some corporate houses have recently come under intense public scrutiny for their perceived ethical deficit."
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Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid also tried to pacify the Industrialists. He said that Prime Minister himself has assured corporate India and asked the cabinet secretary to look into the matter and report back in a month.
Salman Khurshid, however said, that corporate sector should also observe ethical business practices and this is something that we should preach to the world.
However, this assurance fail to cut any ice with Corporate sector. Noted industrialist Rahul Bajaj openly questioned the government by saying that government should only carry out phone tapping in the suspicion of threat to national security or terrorism and tax evasion should not be ground for authorizing phone tapping.
He went a step further and said, "Some officials at lower level must have taken money to leak the tape which is not only illegal but acceptable."
He quipped, that now the government has promised that it will look into the matter but I'd like to see the actions not words.
As per some estimate the Govt. is tapping roughly 6,000 phone and mobile numbers and also keeping nearly 350 email IDs under observation.
