By IANS,
New Delhi : Communications Minister Kapil Sibal Monday said the government is against controlling the Internet and suggested that stakeholders should help evolve a consensus on a clear-cut roadmap and policy for the sector.
“There should be no formal government interference in the dissemination of information through a medium which is perhaps a quintessential representative of democracy. What we want is consensus and not a decision,” Sibal said at the curtain raiser ceremony of India Internet Governance Conference (IIGC).
“Consensus which will then be formalised through which we can deal in future,” he added.
Sibal said that Internet is an indispensable tool for governance in a free democracy, a tool that could help deliver services to the people transparently and eliminate the go-betweens between the government and the people.
The theme of IIGC is ‘Internet for Social and Economic Development: Building the Future Together’ which would provide a platform for an open and inclusive policy dialogue involving the government, business, civil society, technical community and academia.
Telecom Secretary R. Chandrashekhar said Internet today impacts both the users and non-users. With the use of Internet, public interest is at stake and all stakeholders need to reconcile the divergent issues and then take them up appropriately at the international forum.