Govt's 'snooping' order sets off political storm, rocks Parliament

Oppn sees it as a bid to turn India into a surveillance state; govt dismisses the charge

The Narendra Modi government’s late night order authorising 10 central agencies to intercept, monitor and decrypt information contained in “any” computer system rocked Parliament on Friday, with the Opposition terming it an assault on fundamental rights. The Congress and other opposition parties also accused the government of trying to turn India into a “surveillance state” by resorting to “snooping”. 

The government, however, dismissed the charges and said the new order “does not confer any new powers” to any security or law enforcement agency, and that the authorisation was given under 2009 rules. It said the Opposition was playing with national security