India raises snooping issue again with US

Concerned over US intelligence snooping over it as revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden, India has raised the issue with the Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy here protesting against spying which it said was not acceptable.

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 Gen Keith Brian Alexander was visiting India.

Though, it has raised the issue with the US, both in Washington and here, India in the meeting this time conveyed that as per reports, the monitoring of online traffic by their security agencies as was revealed by 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 here 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.