NIC refuses to reveal identity of those who altered Jawaharlal Nehru Wikipedia page
NIC cites
"security implications" for withholding information on those who
altered Jawaharlal Nehru Wiki page.
Disclosure of
those who altered Nehru page on Wikipedia has security implications: NIC
Based on the
input from CERT.IN, it is seen that there may be security implications in
sharing the information. Thus the same may not be shared," the response
from CPIO of National Informatics Centre Swarup Dutta said.
·
Whether computer systems of National Informatics Centre were used to alter theWikipedia page of former Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru and post scandalous information about him and who had done it? The NIC, software solution provider of the government, has refused to part with the information to these questions on the grounds it may have "security implications".
The response which
does not cite any exemption clauses given in the transparency law, mandatory
while withholding the information sought under the RTI Act, says the reply is
based on the input received from the Computer Emergency Response Team
(CERT)-IN. "Based on the input from CERT.IN, it is seen that there
may be security implications in sharing the information. Thus the same may not
be shared," the response from CPIO of National Informatics Centre Swarup
Dutta said.
The RTI applicant had sought from the Department of Electronic and Information Technology the details of IP address 164.100.41.28 which was allegedly used to alter the Wikipedia page on prime ministers of India in which malicious information about Nehru was posted on it.
The RTI applicant had sought from the Department of Electronic and Information Technology the details of IP address 164.100.41.28 which was allegedly used to alter the Wikipedia page on prime ministers of India in which malicious information about Nehru was posted on it.
The NIC was also asked
to provide the names of the officers who used the IP address at the time of
content of Wikipedia being edited. The applicant had also sought to know if any
inquiry was initiated in the matter. Surprisingly, the NIC did not cite
any of the 10 subsections of Section eight of the Right to Information Act for
withholding information which is mandatory under the Act.
Recently, government
said in Lok Sabha that a probe has been launched in the matter but NIC did
not respond to this question in its RTI response. "Actions have been
initiated to investigate into the incident and determine the source of
edit," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said.
According to various
decisions of the CIC and high courts, denial of information is
"exception" hence it must be accompanied with proper explanation
about the reasons for withholding the information. The section 8(2) of the
Right to Information Act says notwithstanding anything in the Official Secrets
Act, 1923 (19 of 1923) nor any of the exemptions permissible in accordance with
sub-section (1), a public authority may allow access to information, if public
interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.
After the reports
emerged about the alleged changes from the government department, the Congress had termed it a "cheap,
undemocratic and gutter level tactic", as it demanded a "full
enquiry" and lodging of a criminal case into the reported changes made
from a central government IP address on Wikipedia pages to show that Nehru was
of Muslim lineage. "A deliberate, sinister and malicious attempt was
made... to alter the Wikipedia pages of... Jawaharlal Nehru, his father Motilal
Nehru and grandfather Gangadhar by showing or attempting to show that their
lineage was not 'Kaul' of Jammu and Kashmir but lineage... was Muslim,"
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had said.
He had also said that
what made the case "very serious" was that this attempt was made from
an IP address of NIC.
Post a Comment