Home Ministry to ask DoT to withdraw J&K SMS ban

NEW DELHI: Within hours of imposition of a ban on SMS services in Jammu and Kashmir, the Home Ministry today decided to ask the Department of Telecommunication to withdraw the order and provide continued service to people in the state.

"The Home Ministry has decided to ask DoT to withdraw the order issued by them today regarding SMS management in J-K service area," a Home Ministry spokesperson said.

The order came after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took up the issue with Home Minister P Chidambaram.

Omar told PTI that his government was asking for a ban on bulk SMS facility which was widely used to spread rumours and gossip in the name of news.

A top Home Ministry official too echoed the same sentiment saying they were favouring a ban on bulk SMS as this was being used to gather trouble makers within minutes or staging protests even for minor issues.