Coming out in strong defence of Home Minister P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal on Saturday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance of attempting to "foist" culpability on him in the 2G scam saying it was a desperate attempt to make Parliamentary democracy dysfunctional.
Legal experts say under existing Indian cyber laws, Sibal cannot do much harm to Google, Yahoo, Facebook or the like. They are not so clear on whether it can be done, or to what extent.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said any move to regulate social networking sites should be made after taking the view of Parliament but maintained that material which would hurt religious sentiments or is defamatory should be checked.
Noted personalities like member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Shobhaa De and Shekhar Kapur joined others in expressing their displeasure over Sibal's statement on Tuesday on moves to eliminate offensive content from Internet platforms.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said he was against media censorship but the content on some social networking sites were "dangerous and inflammatory".
'When did Mr. Sibal fight an election to get into any position in the party'
Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday downplayed the registration of a CBI case against Maharashtra minister Rajendra Darda in coal block allocation case but said he himself would have resigned if any FIR was filed against him.
The second round of spectrum auction will begin in March after the Cabinet decides on reducing reserve price of 800 MHz band, used for offering CDMA-based mobile services.
Retaliating against the Bharatiya Janata Party, after more than a week of Parliament being stalled and the government put on the mat, the Congress said, "Jis soch ne Mahatma Gandhi ki hatya ki thi, Wahi soch loktantra ki hatya kar rahi hai (democracy is being killed by the same mentality which killed mahatma Gandhi)."
After some recent events that turned against the party, including the Congress' G-23 Group asking for a revamp in the party, Congress leader and MP Manish Tiwari has been included in the star campaigners list of Congress for Assam and West Bengal Assembly polls.
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Friday took a dig at Team Anna by calling them 'weighty politicians' and saying they had taken the 'anshan' (hunger strike) route to enter politics.
Company also called for clarity on jurisdiction and role of the TRAI and TDSAT.
Taking serious note of mushrooming media schools in the country, government is mulling framing guidelines to protect the interest of students who have to eke out exorbitant fees for these unrecognised courses.
The ministry wanted to use spectrum in the 700-MHz band for mobile TV services.
Stressing the need to support the party high command, he said, "... we have to fight unitedly. It has pained me that some senior leaders have spoken against the party and its leadership."
With the chorus against the formation of the National Counter Terrorism Council turning louder, the government on Tuesday said it is ready for a dialogue to dispel any misgivings or concerns expressed by states opposing it. Union Telecom and Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said each state is already represented in the central council of NCTC and if there was any misgiving, the Centre would remove it through dialogue.
The government has approved mergers between telecom companies with a combined market share of 35 per cent and rejected spectrum-sharing among 3G operators while restricting it for 2G operators.
Union Minister for Human Resource and Development Kapil Sibal said on Wednesday that the Indian Institute of Technology Council has proposed that students seeking admission into IITs all over the country will have to pass just one test instead of appearing in separate tests for various institutes.
These policies aim to raise revenue of both the sectors to $700 billion over the next eight years.
Government on Saturday hailed the verdict of Delhi court dismissing a plea to make Home Minister P Chidambaram an accused in the 2G case, saying it vindicates its stand and also of the Congress party.
M M Pallam Raju, who has been allocated the human resources and development portfolio, on Sunday said he will carry forward the "good work" initiated by his predecessor Kapil Sibal, who set in motion several reforms during his tenure.
Sibal discussed issues ranging from spectrum sharing, merger and acquisition, annual spectrum usage charge and rising disputes among the telecom firms.
Having a single entrance exam will not put an end to the coaching-class culture, nor help reduce stress, but will only aggravate it further, say academicians. While Sibal's plan may not be foolproof, having independent exams is not the solution too. So, then, is there a middle way out? We deliberate the situation.
he meeting is part of Sibal's efforts to achieve the 100-day plan for reforms in the telecoms sector in consultation with the industry.
What Delhi does, Mumbai can do better, a mammoth gathering of activist Anna Hazare's supporters proved. Sanchari Bhattacharya reports.
What Delhi does, Mumbai can do better, a mammoth gathering of activist Anna Hazare's supporters proved recently
The Supreme Court on Thursday wondered why the Gujarat high court has listed the bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad for hearing on September 19, six weeks after it sent a notice to the state government seeking a response to her application, and asked the state to inform it by 2 pm on Friday about whether such a precedent existed there.
Activist Anna Hazare claims that 85 per cent people in Telecom and Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal's constituency in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, support the draft Lokpal Bill drawn up by 'civil society' activists.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday contested the claims of former Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura over a December, 2007, meeting held regarding entry fees for 2G licences, in which he had said the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram and former Finance Secretary D Subbarao were present.
Mukherjee, along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister PK Bansal and Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal, held meetings with BSP leader Satish C Mishra and RJD chief Lalu Prasad as the debate was underway in the Rajya Sabha in effort to woo them
New Delhi-based NGO organised a cartoon demonstration and hosted a public forum against Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal's intention to eliminate all political cartoons from NCERT textbooks. Abhishek Mande listens in.
New Delhi-based NGO organised a cartoon demonstration and hosted a public forum against Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal's intention to eliminate all political cartoons from NCERT textbooks. Abhishek Mande listens in.
Seeking to galvanise public opinion in favour of its version of Lokpal Bill, the Anna Hazare team on Thursday initiated a "referendum" on the law in Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency represented by Human Resources and Development Minister Kapil Sibal.
Mobile phone firms are willing to let go of inactive subscribers because holding on to them doesn't help in any way in the new order.
At present, GSM operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular earn 10-12 per cent of their revenues from the national roaming services, which amount to Rs 10,000-Rs 13,500 crore.
Former BJP minister Arun Shourie's remarks backing the hike in diesel price was lapped up by the Congress with the BJP, which has demanded a rollback, distancing itself.
A day after a stormy Congress Working Committee meeting, Sibal made the remarks in a cryptic tweet.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said there are 154,688 post offices in the country, the largest postal network in the world.
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