By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: Muslim community leaders are furious over phone tapping by intelligence agencies in Muslim dominated areas in Delhi, Lucknow and Hyderabad, and have demanded the government to make the agencies accountable. The disclosure about the tapping was made in the latest issue of English weekly Outlook. The magazine has also said that phone calls of some top political leaders from different parties were also tapped and taped.
“The phone tapping by intelligence agencies in Muslim-dominated areas shows that the government doubts the integrity of Muslims and feels they need to be watched,” Asaduddin Owaisi, Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad told TwoCircles.net. This is a highly condemnable act, and calls for the secret and intelligence agencies to be brought under accountability regime.
[Photo by Egypt Daily Digest]
“Phone tapping without authorization is a clear violation of Article 21 of the Constitution by Intelligence Bureau,” said Owaisi who brought an adjourn motion on the issue today in the Lok Sabha but was not accepted by the chair.
“When intelligence agencies of other countries like M16 of UK can be made accountable before the Parliament, why not IB?” asked the MP.
The cutting-edge phone tapping technology was brought into use in India in 2005. According to Outlook, a team from the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), an intelligence agency created in the aftermath of the Kargil war to cover all aspects of technical intelligence-gathering, had been monitoring the conversation.
The magazine says: “The most intrusive of these systems are the off-the-air GSM/CDMA monitoring devices procured by various central and state intelligence organisations across the country. Sources estimate 90 such systems to have been bought so far, enabling intelligence agents to track, hear and record cellphone conversations at will without even approaching the telecom companies.”
These devices have been often used in Muslim areas.
“These systems are frequently deployed in Muslim-dominated areas of cities like Delhi, Lucknow and Hyderabad. The systems, mounted inside cars, are sent on “fishing expeditions”, randomly tuning into conversations of citizens in a bid to track down terrorists. Unfortunately, though, such expeditions more often end up violating the privacy of individuals than in catching extremists. “We have deployed the system in places like Seelampur or Jamia in Delhi or the old city of Hyderabad on a few occasions, in the hope that we might pick up critical conversations,” says an intelligence official. “But most of the time, we end up getting private calls or lovers speaking to each other,” the Outlook says.
Reacting over the phone tapping of residents in Muslim areas, Dr Tasleem Rahmani, president, Muslim Political Council of India said: Muslims’ integrity is doubtful. Several thousand phones are under surveillance in Muslim areas. Besides, spy cameras have also been installed in some Muslim areas. This all shows that the Government doubts the loyalty of Muslims and look at them as anti-national.”
On why there is no hue and cry on this issue while Parliament is being adjourned on the phone tapping of some politicians (this disclosure is also part of the Outlook story), Dr Rahmani said: Simply this shows both government and politicians as well as media doubt the integrity of Muslims. Lalu Yadav and Mulayam Yadav were loudly speaking on the issue in Parliament but they did not raise the phone tapping of Muslim areas.”
He said there is a need for a campaign in Muslim areas about how they are being watched and put under surveillance.
Harshly condemning the Congress-led UPA government for this, Mujtaba Farooq, Political Affairs Secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind said that while Narendra Modi government was profiling Muslims in Gujarat, the Congress-led UPA government has done it at wider level. “The phone tapping of Muslim areas is the result of India’s friendship of Israel,” he said.
“The Congress has RSS mindset. Similarly no secular leaders are sincere about Muslims,” he said when asked why political leaders did not condemn the phone tapping of Muslim areas.
The political leaders whose calls were tapped and taped by using the technology in the last five years include Congress leader Digvijay Singh,Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar, NCP leader Sharad Pawar and CPM leader Prakash Karat.