Himachal Pradesh LoP Accuses Govt of Violating Privacy with Drone Surveillance

Jairam Thakur, the Leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, has accused the state government of violating his privacy by allegedly flying drones over his residence. Thakur claimed that he spotted a drone above his house as he was leaving for the assembly on Friday, and he expressed concerns about the government’s increasing surveillance.

“This government is violating privacy. Phones are already being tapped, and now drones are also being used for surveillance. The Chief Minister should have addressed this, but he remained silent,” Thakur said in a statement to journalists.

In response, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu denied the allegations, stating that the drones in question are being used for Geographic Information (GI) mapping across Shimla. He assured that the government would investigate if any surveillance incident had occurred. “The drone is being used for GI mapping all over Shimla. Why would we spy on him? He was a former Chief Minister. If such a thing has happened, we will investigate it, but it seems they are creating an issue where there is none,” Sukhu remarked.

Thakur, however, was not satisfied with the Chief Minister’s response. He claimed that this was not an isolated incident, alleging that drones have been seen multiple times near his residence. He raised the issue in the state assembly, but after what he described as an “irresponsible” response from the Chief Minister, the opposition staged a walkout.

“This is not just about today; we have seen these drones many times before. When we brought up the issue in the assembly, the Chief Minister’s dismissive attitude was unfortunate. We believe the government is using drones for deliberate surveillance. When they continued to downplay the matter, we walked out in protest,” Thakur asserted.

The allegations have sparked a heated political debate in Himachal Pradesh, with the opposition demanding a thorough investigation into the use of drones in the state.