Congress, BJP again flay AAP government on snooping issue

New Delhi, May 31: The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday again took strong exception to the AAP government's alleged plans to buy high-end snooping equipment.

"Snooping is bad. Snooping on private individuals is bad. Be it AAP or BJP, we are against any such snooping. Private lives of individuals should be respected and not be allowed to be encroached on by any person or any authority," Congress spokesman Ajay Maken told Times Now.

Speaking on the alleged plans to procure the snooping equipment by the Kejriwal government, Maken said: "We have always stressed that there should be definite protocols before such high-end equipment are handed over to any section of the government."

He also accused the Aam Aadmi Party of having "different rules for different people".

"The AAP, what we have seen, sets different rules for different people. For themselves, they set different rules and for others different laws," the Congress leader said.

Joining issues, BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli also slammed the AAP government on the issue.

"You cannot tap anybody's phone without the home secretary's permission. Delhi is the capital of India and has central government, Election Commission, the Supreme Court, parliament and the embassies. Why this eagerness to set up these interceptor vehicles? What is there they want to know," Kohli asked while talking to Times Now.

"While he (Arvind Kejriwal) is elected as chief minister, he wants to act like an Intelligence Bureau chief," he said.

Earlier, a TV news report claimed that the Delhi government was planning to buy snooping equipment to enhance surveillance capabilities of the Delhi anti-corruption branch. However, AAP government had denied the report.

"There is no proposal by the Delhi government to procure anything called snooping equipment and no such cabinet note has been circulated," AAP spokesperson Nagendra Sharma had tweeted.

IANS