The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Friday organised a demonstration near the residence of Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad to protest against the alleged stance of the Central Government in support of online censorship.
Around 500 IYC workers attempted to march down to Mr. Prasad’s residence demanding that the Government change its ‘Anti-Online Freedom Space’ stance. The police lathi-charged and used water-cannons against the protesters, about 200 of whom were allegedly detained at the Chanakyapuri police station.
“On Monday, the Modi Government, in a complete U-turn from its earlier stance, filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying that Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, a law which restricts Internet freedom, is a justified provision. It further claimed that on Internet space ‘the danger was present and clear’ and that the Internet needed to be ‘restricted’,” said an IYC leader.
IYC national president Amrinder Singh Brar, who led the protest, charged the Modi Government of being ‘scared of dissenting voices against the BJP and those talking against issues like Ghar Wapasi’. He demanded that the Government immediately take back its affidavit supporting online censorship and amend Section 66A of the IT Act in the next Parliament session.
