Rahul Gandhi blames Modi over Centre's move to empower 10 agencies

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centre's move to authorize 10 agencies to intercept information on any computer system, saying converting India into a police state won't solve his problems but only proves he is an "insecure dictator". "Converting India into a police state isn't going to solve your problems, Modi Ji. It's only going to prove to over 1 billion Indians, what an insecure dictator you really are," Gandhi said on Twitter.

The government has said it has authorized 10 central agencies to intercept, monitor and decrypt all the data contained in "any" computer system and asserted that this was being done to prevent "any unauthorized use of these powers". The new order, issued late Thursday night, "does not confer any new powers" to any security or law enforcement agency, the Union Home Ministry said in a statement. Opposition parties led by the Congress joined hands on Friday to oppose the government's move, describing it as unconstitutional, undemocratic and an assault on fundamental rights.