This Article is From Dec 04, 2013

India once again raises snooping issue with US

India once again raises snooping issue with US

The monitoring of online traffic by US security agencies as was revealed by Edward Snowden.

India has raised the issue of US spying with Deputy Chief of Mission of the American embassy in New Delhi, saying it was unacceptable.

According to sources, Ministry of External Affairs officials nearly a week back conveyed to the US diplomat India's protest. This happened about the same time when the US NSA chief General Keith Brian Alexander was visiting India.

Though, it has raised the issue with the US, both in Washington and New Delhi, India in the meeting this time conveyed that as per reports, the monitoring of online traffic by their security agencies as was revealed by Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor-turned-whistleblower, was not restricted to the data collection purposes.

The issue was first raised by National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon with US Ambassador Nancy Powell and then by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid during the meeting in New Delhi with his US counterpart John Kerry in June.

Indian mission in Washington had also taken up the issue with the US government when reports of US intelligence snooping on various countries including India emerged in July.

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