Union Minister for Information and Technology and Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad has denied charges that the Government made attempts to snoop on social media profiles and posts.
“We are a democracy and we support freedom of social media. The allegations (of snooping) are baseless,” the Minister said.
Highlighting the performance of the Modi government over the past four years, here on Thursday, the Minister said the Union government had made significant achievements in providing jobs, financial inclusion, Make-in-India and Digital India.
The Minister, along with some other Cabinet colleagues, is on a multi-city tour to showcase the achievements of the Modi government over the past four years.
Bypolls ‘not a barometer’
Replying to a query on the results of bypolls, in which BJP lost some Lok Sabha seats, he said the byelections are not “barometers” as a lot of local factors may have influenced the results.
Prasad said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India got a corruption-free and transparent government.
He said the Modi government took many bold decisions in the interest of the nation, such as the surgical strike across the Line of Contro and the demonetisation of high-value currency notes.
Mobile manufacturing
Giving a presentation on the achievements, he said the Make-in-India campaign had catapulted country’s mobile manufacturing capacities.
“From just two in 2013, the number of mobile manufacturing facilities went up to 120 in the last four years. This resulted in the number of mobile phones manufactured to 27.5 crore units from six crore units four years ago. We are expecting this to go up to 50 crore units next year,” Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
He said the government had encouraged BPOs (Business Process Outsourcing facilities) to come up in rural areas. “There are 91 BPOs functioning in 21 States, including in the North-East,” he said.
He said the IT ecosystem in the country was increasing significantly. “Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp have their biggest footprint in the country. E-commerce is raising,” he said.
Rising fuel prices
On fuel prices, he said the government has a holistic, long-term view on the issue. He noted that fuel prices had come down eight or nine times in the past four years. He said the government was working on developing alternative sources of power.
On Aadhaar, Prasad said the data was safe and secure. “About 80 crore bank accounts have been linked to Aadhaar,” he said.
PTI adds: The minister said that despite Supreme Court’s ruling and the Lok Sabha passing the Triple Talaq Bill, the regressive custom is still rampant in States such as Telangana and UP.
“Triple talaq is not an issue of religion or faith. It is an issue of gender justice, gender dignity and gender equality... 22 Islamic countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, have regulated triple talaq. But in India, people are raising the issue of secularism and communalism. The Supreme Court has set it aside. Lok Sabha has passed the Bill. Yet triple talaq is going on (in States), including in Telangana and UP. This is not fair; we fully stand committed (to implement the law),” the Law Minister told reporters.
He urged former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to co-operate with the government for passage of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
Terming the financial scandals, including the latest one involving AirAsia, as “the legacy” of the previous government, he said the NDA government is cleaning the “dirt” left by the previous UPA Government.
“Nirav Modi’s ₹10,000 crore property has been seized. One day before the UPA lost power, Mr P Chidambaram, as Finance Minister, gave special facilities to Mehul Choksi’s Gitanjali. That is their record,” he said.