NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday said the government’s directive on the Sanchar Saathi App smacks of dictatorship and infringes on the right to privacy of citizens and dubbed it as a “snooping app” demanding its immediate rollback.
The furious remarks from the Congress leaders came after th Department of Telecom (DoT) directed manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets to ensure that its fraud reporting app Sanchar Saathi is pre-installed in all new devices within 90 days.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in a post on X slammed the government and said, “Sanchar Saathi app is yet another addition to the long list of attempts by the BJP to strangulate the voice of the people.
He said that the Modi government’s unilateral directions to preload this app without taking into confidence various stakeholders and citizens is akin to dictatorship.
“Why does the government want to know what citizens talk with their family and friends? We are not witnessing this for the first time,” he said, citing several past reference and pointed out that Income Tax laws was bulldozed to turn our digital lives into a 24×7 monitoring zone – every click, chat, and payment up for grabs without consent.
He said that similarly, RTI strangulated by tweaking Section 8(1)(j) via the DPDP Act 2023 – fewer questions, less accountability, more darkness and Pegasus scandal proved what we feared: phones of 100+ Indians hacked – Opposition leaders, judges, journalists, even Union Ministers were snooped.
“Snooping, surveilling, scanning and peeping to confiscate, control, command and monetise citizen’s rights is the hallmark of BJP’s tyrannical regime. No wonder, Modi Govt had vehemently opposed making citizen’s privacy to be declared as a Fundamental Right in the Supreme Court. Democracy perishes. Dystopian era flourishes,” Kharge added.
Meanwhile, while speaking to the media in Parliament, Congress General Secretary and Wayanad MP said, “The Sanchar Saathi is a snooping app, and clearly it is ridiculous. Citizens have the right to privacy. Everyone must have the right to privacy to send messages to family and friends without the government looking at everything.”
She asserted that the government is turning the country into a “dictatorship” and they are refusing to talk about anything and not allowing a discussion on anything and that is why Parliament is not functioning.
“It’s not just snooping on the telephone. They’re turning this country into a dictatorship in every form. Parliament isn’t functioning because the government is refusing to discuss anything. It is very easy to blame the Opposition, but they’re not allowing any discussion on anything, and that’s not democracy,” she said.
The Congress leader also said that a healthy democracy demands discussion, and everybody has different views, and you hear them out.
She said there is a very fine line between reporting fraud and seeing what every citizen of India is doing on their phone.
“That’s not how it should work. There should be an effective system to report fraud. We’ve discussed this at great length in terms of cyber security. There’s a need for cyber security, but that doesn’t mean it gives you an excuse to go into every citizen’s phone. I don’t think any citizen would be happy,” the Congress leader added.
Condemning the move, even Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said, “India has now become a ‘surveillance state’.
“Is it Official Pegasus or akin to REDFLAG App of North Korea on every Cellphone? India is now a ‘Surveillance State’? India will now be a ‘Police State’? Right to Privacy & Personal Space are now officially dead,” Surjeala said in a post on X.
Citing the DoT order, he said the Sanchar Saathi App will be pre installed on every phone by manufacturer and importers of mobile phones and for all existing cellphone, Sanchar Saathi App will be pushed through software updates.
Once Sanchar Saathi App is installed, its functions can’t be disabled or restricted, the order also says.
Surjewala said once a compulsory app is pre-installed, the government can monitor your ‘location’, monitor your ‘search history’ and monitor calls, SMS and WhatsApp.
Following the uproar over the DoT orders, the government later clarified that the Sanchar Saathi app is optional and one can uninstall it from their phones.
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