Justifying the internet shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir, NITI Aayog member V.K. Saraswat on Saturday said that having internet doesn't make any difference in the union territory as people there only watch “dirty films”. Internet services have been suspended in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August.
According to ANI, Saraswat, who was a chief guest at the annual convocation at Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology in Gandhinagar, was asked why internet services were suspended in Jammu and Kashmir. To this, he said that the ban did not have a significant effect on the economy.
“Why do politicians want to go to Kashmir? They want to re-create the protests happening on the roads of Delhi in Kashmir. They use social media to fuel protests. What difference does it make if there’s no internet in Kashmir? What do you watch on internet there? What e-tailing is happening there? Besides watching dirty films, you do nothing there,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir has been under a communication shutdown since August 5, 2019 when the Centre revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave it special status and bifurcated the state to a union territory. Internet services have been suspended for over five months, but was partially lifted on postpaid connections recently. Apart from the communication shutdown, the Centre also detained political leaders, placing them under house arrest and imposing curfews across the region.
The Supreme Court, earlier this month, directed the government to review the order to suspend internet in Jammu and Kashmir, citing that access to internet is a fundamental right. The apex court added that such suspension can only be for a limited time period and is subject to judicial review.
