The issue of personal liberty had a chequered history during the previous Congress governments, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today while hitting back at the Congress for targeting the Modi government over the privacy judgement.
Prasad also accused Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi of speaking without doing home work, saying he should know that his party's governments at the Centre have argued that privacy is not part of any constitutional guarantee.
"Rahul Gandhi has accused us of bringing fascist regime... It is his habit of speaking without home work.
"Senior Congress leaders have also started speaking without doing their home work... What has been the record of the Congress in protecting individual liberties was seen during Emergency," he said.
Prasad recalled a submission made by the then attorney general before the Supreme Court during Emergency where the court was told that if a detainee is killed in jail, he has no remedy.
"On the other hand, we fought for freedom of judiciary, individuals and media during Emergency," he said.
"The issue of personal liberty had a chequered history during the previous Congress governments," he said.
"Immediately after the Constitution was framed, the Congress government at the Centre had consistently maintained that personal liberty could be denied to an individual by any legislation irrespective of the reasonableness of that legislation.
"The Congress governments had consistently argued that privacy was not a part of any constitutional guarantee," a statement issued by the Law Ministry said.
Welcoming the Supreme Court verdict holding privacy as a fundamental right, the government today said the right should be subject to "reasonable restrictions".
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
