NEW DELHI: Amid the massive uproar surrounding the Centre’s directions to phone manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on all phones sold in India, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday clarified that mobile phone users will have the option to delete this app if they don’t want to use it.
The Congress has flagged potential privacy risks due to the Centre’s directions to the phone manufacturers. Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal has said the move is “beyond unconstitutional”. “Big Brother cannot watch us. The Right to Privacy is an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and liberty, enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution,” he said on X.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called Sanchar Saathi a “snooping app”. “It’s ridiculous. Citizens have the right to privacy. This isn’t just about snooping on telephones – overall, they are turning this country into a dictatorship in every possible form,” he said. Priyanka Chaturvedi, Rajya Sabha MP from Shiv Sena (UBT), said the Centre’s move is “another BIG BOSS surveillance moment”.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram slammed the government. “This has been done in Russia and North Korea. They want to snoop on our private photos and videos,” he told NDTV.
Countering the criticism, Scindia said the Opposition is desperately looking for an issue. “It is the government’s responsibility to shatter myths. That’s what I am doing. In 2024, cyber frauds worth Rs 22,800 took place in our country. The opposition is asking us how we will stop fraud and when we are giving Sanchar Saathi to the common citizen, they are saying it is (snooping tool) Pegasus. We cannot show truth to those who don’t want to see it,” he said.
All picture credit from social media
