Post Office Bill retains its ‘draconian and colonial’ provisions: Shashi Tharoor during debate

“Sadly, so it is with this Bill. Even as it seeks to revise a colonial Bill, this Bill retains its draconian and colonial provisions, that too while eliminating the burden of accountability which a governmental enterprise like India Post ought constitutionally to shoulder. Sadly, it offers no new ideas to bring our post offices into the 21st Century. As someone who has great respect for the Minister, I am disappointed to see him putting this half-baked reform before the House,” Tharoor said.

Discussing context of the debate on the Bill, Tharoor said, “Around a month or so ago, several outspoken Members of the Opposition, including myself, received a threat notice from Apple warning us of the fact that State-sponsored attackers were trying to infiltrate our phones, by doing which they could extract sensitive data and even hack our phones, cameras and microphones. Was it really so long ago that the threat of Pegasus loomed large on us all, surveilling our every move and tracking our every utterance? These are the realities we must bear in our minds as we begin debating this Bill, which strikes at the heart of our constitutional values, our Fundamental Rights, compelling every ordinary Indian to live at the mercy of our State’s pervasive and suspicious mistrust of its own citizens,” Tharoor said.

Tharoor alleged that the Centre is seeking arbitrary powers to spy on citizens.

Tharoor said, “Through this Bill, our Government has sought to make itself the judge, jury and executioner in all those cases where a citizen’s correspondence or consignment is found violative of the Bill’s excessively vague ground. On this Bill, there is nothing that is reasonable. There is plenty that is restrictive.”

“Therefore, I would say this Bill is a great disappointment, and I request the Minister to kindly return to the drawing board and come back with something better,” he added.

Supporting the Bill, BJP member Tapir Gao requested the Congress party members to pass the Bill unanimously. “We all should together pass this Bill so that the poor get the benefits.

Earlier in the day, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, piloted the Bill and urged the members to pass it unanimously.