New Delhi: The new intermediary rules issued by the Modi government are dire, drastic and draconian in nature says Congress spokesperson Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Addressing the media the Congress leader said.
He said the “new rules are a severe blow to the vibrant culture of discourse, deliberation and dissent in India.”
According to Singhvi, what the Modi government “seeks to implement today, without recall or modification and despite unanimous condemnation from all segments of civil and political society, is the Modi government’s North Korean approach to free speech”
He accused that the Modi government was trying to “capture and subordinate every pillar and agency of freedom of thought and expression. Having successfully done so in respect of constitutional and statutory bodies like CBI, ED, EC and several others, along with subjugation of the ‘Godi Media’, Modi Ji has now turned his attention to social media and social media platforms to annihilate all vestige of free speech, thought, and expression.”
“Dictatorial regimes, including the North Korean one, would blush at the brazenness with which the Modi government has done so. The Modi-led BJP government’s pathshala should be the new go-to place for all dictators to hone their skills in controlling free speech and thought.”
He further added that when “these Intermediary Rules were published on 25.05.2021, the heart and soul of their highly objectionable approach was reflected in Rule 4, which would be actionable after three months. During this time, every protest, every entreaty, every demand and every request for recall and modification of such asphyxiating Rules have been ignored by this obstinate government and thrown into the dustbin.”
He said, nobody could expect better from the BJP and the Modi govt. After all, as far as dissent, disagreement, free thoughts, expression, and speech is concerned, the milestones achieved by this government include the following:
a. Legal action including sedition was initiated against youth helping patients with oxygen in Uttar Pradesh.
b. Delhi Police registered 17 FIRs and arrested 15 people for posters critical of PM Modi.
c. More than 50 journalists working in rural areas were arrested or had police complaints registered against them, or were physically assaulted for their COVID-19 reportage.
Enough is enough. We should all speak in one voice against such invasions of our freedoms and autonomy.
On a question that Congress has also gone to court in the past on the issue of privacy, challenging the Aadhar act, now some social media platforms have already moved to the court against new privacy provisions, whether the Congress will also join the issue and move the court against the new provisions, Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi said “First of all let me remind you, when you mentioned the Aadhar case of that matter, the privacy case, what was the official stand of the Government of India on affidavit. I am not answering your question first time, just reminding you, because you asked the question. The official stand of the Government of India on affidavit was, there is no right of privacy in this country and Aadhar has to be implemented in ABCD ways, damn privacy. That is not mine; it is the official stand of the Government of India, which case fortunately lost in the court.”
