Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal & Asaduddin Owaisi back Congress in 'Big Brother' snooping charge, call MHA's order "a danger to democracy"

Agitatedly alleging India of being turned into a "surveillance state", the Opposition leaders Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Asaduddin Owaisi and others have sided with the Congress party over the Ministry of Home Affair's (MHA) decision of allowing surveillance to ten authorities.

MHA's statement that permitted central bodies the power of, "interception, monitoring and decryption of any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer" was passed on Thursday

An irate Opposition has called out the decision of authorising agencies to access any computer in the country, a "state of emergency"- like situation. 

Opposition fury

"From Modi Sarkar to stalker sarkar, clearly the string of losses has left the BJP government desperate for information," the Congress said on its official Twitter handle.

The chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal proclaimed that the "Modi government is crossing all limits by seeking control of even the citizen's computers" deploring the government of diminishing fundamental rights. The AAP leader cited India to be in an "undeclared state of emergency since 2014" in the shadow of BJP rule. 

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"Blanket surveillance is bad in law," stated the chief minister of Bengal, TMC's Mamata Banerjee, who was in accordance to the Congress party who stood against the act. 

The law passed would provide the agencies with the access to "snoop into our communications", said AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi. Further comparing the situation to 1984, when India was in a state of emergency and saying "George Orwell’s Big Brother is here" referring to George Orwell's novels in which the authorities have a totalitarian rule over the people.

The former CM of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah shared his thoughts on the law passed through a tweet where he called the Supreme Court to take a "hard look" on this "snooping" policy
 

The move notified by the government by leveraging the powers given to them by the IT Act 2000 has fumed the Congress party have called this a "danger to the democracy"

Congress' Anand Sharma reacted to the passing of the order saying, "This is a danger to the democracy. India has become a surveillance state. The MHA order is not acceptable in a democracy." 

The newly appointed chief minister of Rajasthan says that the situation is "extremely worrisome"

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Through the order, these agencies will be allowed access into computers -

• Intelligence Bureau 
• Narcotics Control Bureau
• Enforcement Directorate
• Central Board of Direct Taxes 
• Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
• CBI 
• National Investigation Agency
• Cabinet Secretariat (R&AW) 
• Directorate of Signal Intelligence (in Jammu and Kashmir, North-East and Assam only)
• Delhi Police Commissioner.