Bringing NTRO under ministry being examined: Chidambaram
April 29th, 2010 - 8:52 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) The government is examining a proposal to bring under “a ministry” the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), in the eye of a storm for allegedly monitoring phone conversations between a high-profile lobbyist and Communications Minister A. Raja on the allocation of 2G spectrum, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Thursday.
“A group of ministers had recommended the creation of the NTRO in 2001. It was the decision of the (previous) NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and not the UPA (United Progressive Alliance),” Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha while replying to a debate on the phone tapping issue.
“It had been decided to place the NTRO not under a ministry but under the NSA. We are examining whether the NTRO should be placed under a ministry so that the minister is accountable to parliament,” he added.
The issue had rocked parliament Wednesday, leading to demands for Raja’s resignation and disrupting the proceedings in both houses.
It led to 75 minutes of the pre-lunch session being lost in the Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned twice, while the Lok Sabha lost an hour’s business due to one adjournment.
Both houses had been adjourned for the day Monday and Tuesday after angry opposition MPs demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into a report that the phones of prominent politicians had been tapped. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had nixed the demand, angering the opposition further and leading it to give notice of a privilege motion in the Lok Sabha.
- Finance bill passed, ministry control on surveillance body mooted (Parliament Roundup) - Apr 29, 2010
- Centre to bring NTRO under 'a ministry': Chidambaram - Apr 29, 2010
- Phone tapping again rears its head in parliament (Parliament Roundup) - Apr 28, 2010
- Government committed to privacy: Chidambaram (Lead) - Apr 29, 2010
- Centre may order inquiry into phone tapping allegations - May 01, 2010
- Rajya Sabha names JPC members; business as usual in houses (Intro Roundup) - Mar 02, 2011
- Parliament returns to disruptions over demands for Chidambaram's ouster (Roundup) - Dec 08, 2011
- Question hour cancelled in both houses (Lead) - Aug 02, 2011
- BJP targets Chidambaram in parliament (Roundup) - Dec 20, 2011
- Phone-tapping violates constitutional guarantees: BJP - Apr 29, 2010
- Another parliament day, Rs.4 crore lost - Nov 23, 2011
- Back to square one: Anti-Chidambaram protests disrupt parliament - Dec 08, 2011
- Parliament adjourned till Monday over anti-Chidambaram protests (Lead) - Dec 16, 2011
- Day 2 monsoon session: protests stall parliament (Second Lead) - Aug 02, 2011
- Protests over graft, inflation stall parliament second day (Third Lead) - Aug 02, 2011
Tags: adjournment, eye of a storm, home minister, lobbyist, Lok Sabha, lunch session, manmohan, manmohan singh, national democratic alliance, national technical research organisation ntro, nsa, parliamentary committee, phone conversations, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, progressive alliance, raja, rajya sabha, research organisation, UPA