New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS): Under attack from the Opposition over governments move to snoop on all computers by intelligence and investigating agencies, the ruling BJP on Sunday claimed that under the Congress-led UPA, up to 9,000 phone calls and 500 e-mails were intercepted monthly.

Defending the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) December 20 order allowing 10 Central agencies to "intercept, monitor and decrypt any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer", BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that as against the Modi government's "legal" order, the UPA regime "snooped on people illegally".

"The people who were snooping on 9,000 telephone calls and 500 emails every month are now accusing others of snooping," said Patra citing RTI replies claiming that "between 7,500 and 9,000 orders for interception of telephones were issued by the UPA government on a monthly basis".

"The political party which enforced Emergency is now preaching us. The Congress despite losing ground continues to play politics over national security," alleged Patra.

The MHA order has come under intense criticism from opposition parties, both inside and outside Parliament, claiming it was unconstitutional, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of turning India into a "surveillance state".