Govt order exposes Modi as 'insecure dictator', says Rahul

NEW DELHI: Leading a united opposition charge against the home ministry's directive empowering central agencies to monitor all computers and phones, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the government's blanket "surveillance order" had exposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an "insecure dictator".

The opposition onslaught comprised Left, SP, TMC, RJD and AAP, among others, as they came together in the Parliament complex to issue a strong warning to the government to rescind the order which they said would usher in a "police state". Crucially, the opposition pegged BJP's defeat in the three heartland states as the provocation for the decision, which they said would be targeted at opposition political leaders and officials.

Rahul capped the day of opposition offensive with a tweet, "Converting India into a police state isn't going to solve your problems, Modiji. It's only going to prove to over 1 billion Indians what an insecure dictator you really are. "

Congress leader Ahmed Patel said, "The government order giving blanket approval for electronic surveillance is a direct assault on civil liberties and personal freedom of citizens."

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury tweeted, "Why is every Indian being treated like a criminal? This order by a government wanting to snoop on every citizen is unconstitutional and in breach of the telephone tapping guidelines, the privacy judgment and the Aadhaar judgment."