New Delhi: A tussle broke out between parliamentarians of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress on Wednesday at the Standing Committee meeting of Information and Technology which discussed the internet shutdown in the country particularly Jammu and Kashmir.
In the three hour meeting, BJP MPs opposed the discussion on internet shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir arguing it would impact national security.
They also demanded a vote on the subject, however, was overruled by panel chairperson and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor said the issue was discussed previously and committee need not go through another round of the vote.
Dr Nishikant Dubey of BJP and member of the standing committee also strongly opposed Jammu and Kashmir internet shutdown discussion.
"Again @ShashiTharoor wants to discuss national security it is alarming @Ombirlakota. Lok Sabha rule 270 says that the government may decline to produce a document on the ground that its disclosure would be prejudicial to the safety or interest of the state," Dr Nishikant tweeted Om Birla, Speaker, Lok Sabha.
Also read: Home Secy not to attend IT standing committee meeting on internet shutdown
Dubey in August also wrote a letter to Om Birla in which he questioned the cancelling of the meeting that was due in September while citing that its agenda is in contravention of the rules of the house.
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla later wrote a letter to the chairpersons of all parliamentary panels and asked them to select subjects based on the rules and keeping in mind that the house does not discuss the issues that are pending in courts.
The case of internet shut down in Jammu and Kashmir is in Supreme court. Internet was shut down in Jammu and Kashmir before abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 and only 2G services have been activated in the region.
Supreme Court in Anuradha Bhasin judgement said internet services cannot be shut down for an indefinite period. As per the latest notification of union government, the shutdown down can remain in operation for a maximum of 15 days.
Panel members asked Home Ministry officials about internet shutdown extension in Jammu and Kashmir as 15 days period concludes on Tuesday. The officials, however, did not give any specific replies as per sources and Home secretary Ajay Bhalla did not attend the meeting.
