Prasad alerts officials on Vodafone issue

Asks officials of the Communications and Information Technology dept to gather details about it

Union Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has sought details about admission by Vodafone that India was among 29 countries that sought access to its network to intercept calls, text messages and emails last year.  "I got to know about the issue while on my way to Patna on Saturday. I have asked the officials of my department to gather details about it," Prasad told reporters here.

He declined to make any announcement saying that Parliament was in session and as a minister he had his limitations.

The company, in its Law Enforcement Disclosure report, did not mention the number of requests made by India as Indian laws did not allow disclosure of information on interception and communications data.

Vodafone did not say if it complied with the requests made by the Indian government.

Speaking about BSNL, the minister said that he would look into the scope for its spread and development in Bihar.