The federal government said yesterday it would not propose any mechanisms to regulate internet content in a reversal of previous announcements.

Sachin Pilot, a minister of state in the federal ministry of communications and information technology, told parliament that the “government does not regulate content and there is no proposal to formulate a mechanism to regulate it.”

The government’s latest position follows comments made last week by Kapil Sibal, federal minister of communications that the government would frame guidelines to prevent content deemed offensive.

Sibal also met today with internet operators who have suggested that the government constitute an independent body for monitoring offensive content.

Father George Plathottam, secretary of the social communications commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, has condemned any moves to curb internet content.

“Attempting to control free expression or criticism of politics or religion is tantamount to preventing pluralism in thought and expression.”

Rights activists have also weighed in, calling the any proposed monitoring or censoring of internet content an attempt to “gag free speech.”

Debashree Ganguly, a rights activist and former journalist, suggested that the issue was raised for political reasons.

“The government is scared of the popularity and reach of [anti-corruption advocate Anna Hazare].”

She added: “The minister had initially taken offence at [digitally altered] pictures of congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but later changed tack, saying his objection was not against anything political but against incendiary religious material.”

A Google Transparency Report has stated that it received 358 item removal requests from the Indian government between January and June, of which 255 cited government criticism as the reason.