Cong urges HC to take suo-moto notice of Punjab govt move to tap phones

Thursday, 18/07/2013

http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/cong-urges-hc-to-take-suo-moto-notice-of-punjab-govt-move-to-tap-phones/82930

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress has urged Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court to take suo-moto notice of Punjab government’s move to tap phones, read e-mails and text messages, monitor social sites on pretext of maintaining security.

Congress spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira alleged that Punjab Police on directions of its Home Minister Sukhbir Badal, has got sanctioned crores of taxpayer’s money to purchase surveillance equipments in order to keep an eye on opposition leaders, his own Ministers, members of civil society and other important people.

“This not only amounts to gross violation of one’s privacy and independence but is a well planned conspiracy to intimidate and muzzle the voice of the people.”

“Sukhbir Badal and his empowered committee comprising of the Chief Secretary and the Home Secretary, in the name of setting up a Regional Monitoring Centre (RMC), have actually planned to tap telephones of his political adversaries, keeping an eye on e-mails, text messages and monitor all social networking sites,” Khaira alleged.

Earlier, in a similar fashion, Sumedh Singh Saini now DGP, in his capacity as Chief Director Vigilance had indulged in phone tapping of the Judges of the High Court in 2009. A detailed report of his unlawful activities was prepared by the then Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and sent to the Chief Justice of India.

Only recently the outgoing BJP government headed by P.K.Dhumal in Himachal Pradesh has been caught tapping phones of its rivals, an inquiry in this regard is in progress. It is pertinent to mention, that the BJP are alliance partners of the SAD in Punjab and are indulging in same modus-operandi to gag the voice of its opponents, Khaira pointed out.

“Our allegations of phone tapping were also substantiated recently by CPS Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who accused the goverrnment of tapping her phone as well as that of her husband Navjot Sidhu, MP. There is a general opinion amongst cross section of people like politicians, journalists and officers that the government is indulging in tapping their telephones, therefore they hesitate to speak freely.”

The Congress party on getting specific information from senior police officers had made a formal complaint regarding tapping of telephones to the Election Commission of India, in the run up to assembly elections of 2012.

“We again reiterate that the Punjab Police maintain a secret room on the top floor of its police headquarters in Sector-9, Chandigarh, to constantly tap telephones of all political rivals of the Badal family, using illegitimate devices procured through secret funds available at the disposal of the DGP.

Therefore, keeping in view the sensitive nature of unlawful activity being indulged in by the Punjab Police on the directions of the Junior Badal as Home Minister, we urge Chief Justice to intervene and issue a suo moto notice and have the matter of phone tapping and surveillance investigated,” Khaira appealed.