Mr. Kapil Sibal,
Freedom of speech and expression is a natural right guaranteed under the Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India. Freedom of speech and expression implies the right to express one’s thoughts and ideas freely via any medium, such as gestures, signs, verbal communication, print media, radio or television.
The Supreme Court has broadened the scope of the right to freedom of speech and expression. It has held that the government has NO Monopoly over the electronic media.
Mr. Kapil Sibal, in the interest to protect the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress, you have led yourself out-of-bounds by intervening with the basic rights given to the citizens of India in the Freedom of Speech, by the Constitution, when you recently asked that content on Twitter, Facebook & Google be pre-screened.
As a minister who supposedly has been appointed to deliver your duties to the country, have you forgotten that changing the Constitution per your whim & fancy is not part of that duty!
On the internet, through Tweets, Facebook, there is a democratic discussion on what the political parties do or what they don’t do? After all isn’t democracy By the people, For the people and Of the people. Who are you to Stop this?
Mr.Sibal, if you are that concerned about vulgarity shouldn’t your Government be concerned about the daily Dowry Deaths, 90 innocent people dying from a fire because someone decided to flout every rule, about the increasing violence against women, about Female feticide, about the rampant corruption existing in every walk of life, about the distrust that your Government has created by taking a U-turn on FDI.
Or you consider free & frank discussion re: deaths, violence & other forms of mishaps caused by the act of some corrupt official vulgar because they are too candid for you to digest ?
Have you as a minister looked at where the Economic Development of Our country is going? We seemed to be mired in political tussle on a daily basis at the cost of economic growth & development.
Surely you seemed extra concerned on the power of the Internet. Only one with guilt would be worried about the Impact of the conversations on Twitter, Facebook & other social media.
We Indians have always been proud of and boasted about our freedom of speech which is missing in dictatorship countries like China. Recently, when Pakistan tried to impose ban on some words to be used in SMS, I laughed at the thought little realizing that our minister would also sneakily find ways and means to censor and control content on the Internet.
Why don’t you endeavor to instill the good practices of countries like China and Pakistan rather than adopt the not favored practices of censorship.
Mr. Sibal, remember that the more you curtail and the more you hide, you will only be opening the doors of revolution and protest.
Do not be a hurdle to a true democratic process and don’t intervene in the rights granted by Our Constitution.
From A Citizen Of India
