Bizarre that India only democracy that routinely shuts internet: Shashi Tharoor

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said it is bizarre that India is the “only democracy in the world” that routinely resorts to Internet shutdowns for extended periods of time inconveniencing ordinary citizens.

The Congress leader tweeted this a day ahead of the Supreme Court’s hearing on Manipur which has been the seat of ethnic violence for the past two months.

Shashi Tharoor, who was the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing on Information Technology, said the committee in 2022 observed that there was no evidence that internet shutdown actually stalls violence.

“It is a reflexive bureaucratic action that causes far more inconvenience to ordinary citizens than a useful security measure,” Tharoor wrote.

“I hope the Supreme Court will stand up for the rights of citizens rather than for the blinkered babus who are completely indifferent to the impact of their decisions on citizens who use the Internet for banking, credit card transactions, enrolments, examinations, &to obtain all kinds of vital information. The Court must end this awful practice now!” Tharoor wrote.

The Manipur high court, on July 7, directed to lift te ban on the internet in the state against which the state government moved the Apex Court. The state has been witnessing violence stemming from the clashes between Kuku and Meitei communities.

The Congress has been pressing PM Modi to speak on the Manipur issue. On Saturday, the Congress said it will raise a discussion on the Manipur situation in both the houses of Parliament in the Monsoon session which will start on July 20.