India needs Mossad-like spy agency: K Padmanabhaiah

HYDERABAD: Comparing India’s spy agencies with other intelligence organisations in the world, former Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiah pointed out how Israel’s Mossad is exempted from the Constitutional law of that country and indicated that India should have something similar.

“Should we not think of something like that, because we are surrounded by many adversaries? Padmanabhaiah wondered while speaking at a seminar on ‘External Intelligence for National Security’ organised by Social Cause here on Sunday. He suggested that a country’s intelligence agency should be empowered not just to report but also to take actions like those in the USA, United Kingdom, or Israel.  

However, former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Vikram Sood, said that India’s problem is not about the independent functioning of the intelligence agencies but the budget constraints and the lack of law regarding their operations.

Vikram Sood urged for a balance between a legal empowerment and accountability of an intelligence organisation.

“If someone has legal empowerment of the agency which includes accountability, then it is a fair game. But if you have only accountability, then that organisation will collapse. We cannot just have it one way,” he said.

The former RAW chief also pointed out the lack of funds in Indian intelligence and said that the USA’s intelligence budget was double the total defence budget of India.