news details |
|
|
| Omar justifies ban on Pre-paid SMS; forgets 'regressive, counter-productive' tweet | | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Feb 21: Putting virtually a question mark on his public posturing, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who is also incharge of the Home department today justified ban on pre-paid Short Messaging Service (SMS).
In a written reply to PDP legislator Syed Naeem Akhtar Andrabi's question, Home Ministry of Jammu and Kashmir has said that ban on pre-paid services has been imposed to check spread of false and frivolous rumours which have a potential to incite violence, thus, posing serious law and order problem.
With the continuation of ban on this service, spread of rumours and false propaganda against the Government has declined to a large extent, the Home Minister has said while adding that in view of the upcoming elections to the Lok Sabha followed by the elections to the State Assembly, it would not be appropriate to suggest revocation of ban at this stage.
This stance of J&K Home Ministry is in complete contrast to public posturing of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. He has repeatedly referred to his inability in getting the ban revoked. On November 9, 2009; Omar had expressed displeasure over the ban and said that it should be lifted and security checks should be strengthened to curb the misuse of Pre-paid services. He reiterated this statement over and again.
On February 21, 2011; Omar wrote on his micro-blogging site Twitter that imposing a blanket ban would be a regressive and counter-productive measure and ways have to be found to avoid it. On May 23, 2013; Omar who prefers twitter over table talk while talking to reporters in Srinagar defended the ban on pre-paid SMS by saying that ban on SMS on prepaid connections is because of this problem of mass messages being used to spread rumours and nothing so far suggests that this disease has been cured.
Without making a mention of his own Ministry opposing the lifting of the ban, Omar had said that State Government was working with the Centre to find a way for lifting the ban but prevent sending mass messages. "We are working with the Government of India to figure out a way whereby the ban on prepaid SMS can be lifted but at the same time multiple SMSs can be stopped," he had said.
On October 6, 2013 Omar admitted for the first time that it was his Home Department which had banned pre-paid SMS in the State. Omar said that the services were suspended on the orders of State Home Department, headed by him, in 2010. "Short Message Services (SMS) to all the prepaid mobile subscribers have been suspended till further orders vide Government Order No. Home -1479 of 2010 dated 22-12- 2010," was the order issued by the Ministry.
Omar had even then justified the ban saying that services were snapped to "stop circulation of rumours through fake and false messages, which have a tendency to arouse the passions, vitiate the peaceful atmosphere thereby resulting in law and order problem." However, he had assured that State Government was working with the Centre Government to explore possibility of lifting the ban.
It needs to be mentioned here that SMS was suspended on June 30, 2010 but the curbs on post-paid connections were lifted in December, 2010. However, the ban continues on lakhs of prepaid consumers, leaving residents of the State fuming. Naeem Akhtar when contacted said "When ban on pre-paid SMSs is not being lifted, when police is verifying document of subscribers seeking mobile connections, when your conversations can be kept under surveillance, roaming facility is not available for pre-paid connections and when you cannot own more than two mobile connections, even talking about anything else is absurd." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
