Internet can t be governed, Kapil Sibal

Kapil Sibal, minister of communications and IT, said that internet was a necessity in India and an important medium that gave a chance to people to be heard.

"The internet is necessary for India... it gives a chance for the voiceless to be heard," said Sibal at Google Big Tent event in Delhi. "Internet is the most important and transformative forum."

Sibal's comments come at a time when Indian government is facing a criticism over its perceived attempts to censor the web and social media. Last year, the government reportedly asked Twitter to block certain accounts and told Google to remove some YouTube videos.

Google's data reveals that the number of requests that Indian authorities make, asking the company to remove data, has been increasing.

In the first half of the year, Indian authorities made 596 requests to Google for removal of content. In comparison, only 255 such requests were made in the second half of 2011. In the second half of 2012, Indian government also made 2,431 requests to Google to get information on 4106 users and accounts.

Sibal, however, assured that the government was committed to the freedom of the internet users.

"We are wedded to the freedom of expression and will do nothing to diminish that freedom," he said.

The minister said that internet governance is an oxymoron. "The internet does away with the concept of sovereignty," he said. He added that the internet must govern itself.

The minister talked about enabling easy access to the internet for all Indians and said that the government would connect 1,55,000 post offices in India electronically.

Sibal's comments, however, did not impress India's netizens. On Twitter, people claimed that his government's record in upholding freedom of speech on the web has not been stellar.

"Kapil Sibal says govt believes internet is a liberating forum for transformation of country. We are wedded 2 freedom... subject to 66-A limit?" tweeted a Twitter users. The user was referring to the Article 66A of Indian IT Act that has been used by the police in recent times to book people critical of politicians.