NEW DELHI, Dec 14 � Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today told a �nervous� corporate sector that government needed powers to tap telephones but it has to be ensured that these are not misused, reports PTI.
Inaugurating �India Corporate Week 2010�, he said he was asking the Cabinet Secretary to look into issues relating to telephone tapping and a mechanism to prevent its leakage and report back to the Cabinet within the next month.
At the same time, the Prime Minister reminded the business leaders that business practices of some corporate houses have recently come under public scrutiny for their �perceived ethical deficit�.
�We want to provide a level playing field for private businesses, free from fear or favour. I am aware of the nervousness in the corporate sector arising out of the powers upon government authorities to tap phones for protecting national security and preventing tax evasion and money laundering,� he said breaking his silence on the raging controversy over telephone tapping.
Singh said while these powers were needed, they have to be exercised with utmost care and under well-defined rules, procedures and mechanisms so that they were not misused.
�We must also look for solutions through technology to prevent access of telephone conversation to systems outside the institutional framework of government,� he said.
