NEW DELHI: The central government's dictum to makers regarding pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi application on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported in India has sparked a massive political row over concerns of privacy breach.
While the department of telecommunications (DoT) justified the measure as a move for "curbing IMEI misuse", the opposition has raised red flags calling it a "snooping app" and terming the move "unconstitutional". Some even compared it with Pegasus spyware.
The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a unique number used to identify mobile phones. Most phones have one IMEI, but dual-SIM phones have two.
What is Sanchar Saathi App?
Sanchar Saathi App is a "citizen centric initiative of DoT to empower mobile subscribers, strengthen their security and increase awareness about citizen centric initiatives."
It offers services like reporting fraud calls or messages, checking phone genuineness through IMEI, finding and blocking lost phones, seeing all mobile numbers in your name, and reporting suspicious international calls. It requires permissions for call/SMS logs, sending SMS for registration, accessing photos/files, and using the camera for IMEI scanning.
The controversy erupted after DoT directed all mobile manufacturers and importers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on devices sold in India, calling it a move towards "strengthening cybersecurity and curbing IMEI misuse."
'Big Brother cannot watch us': Opposition hits out
Calling it a "dystopian" move, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal questioned the constitutionality of the move saying, "A pre-loaded government app that cannot be uninstalled is a dystopian tool to monitor every Indian. It is a means to watch over every movement, interaction and decision of each citizen."
"Big Brother cannot watch us. This DoT Direction is beyond unconstitutional. 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.
Echoing similar sentiments, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi slammed the Centre for "turning this country into a dictatorship". She termed it a "snooping app" and said that it was an "excuse to go into every citizen's telephone".
"It is a snooping app. It's ridiculous. Citizens have the right to privacy. Everyone must have the right to privacy to send messages to family, friends, without the government looking at everything... They are turning this country into a dictatorship in every form," she said.
"There's 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 on cybersecurity. There's a need for cybersecurity, but that doesn't mean that it gives you an excuse to go into every citizen's telephone. I don't think any citizen would be happy," she added.
"They brought in Pegasus and have been unable to keep it under control. MPs and MLAs all say that their phones are being tapped. For the last 11 years, basic rights of the Indians have been taken away... This is the real violation of National Security," Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury said.
Interestingly, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the app could be "useful provided they are voluntary".
"I have not studied the issue in full detail, but common sense tells me that these apps can be useful provided they are voluntary. Everybody who needs them should be able to download them. Making anything compulsory in a democracy is troubling. But I need to look a little more into what the logic is of the government. In fact, the government should explain all this to the public instead of just passing an order that the media reports. I think we need to have a discussion where the government explains what their thinking is," he said.
Centre offers big clarification
Shortly after the row, Union communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified that the app could be deleted, dismissing opposition leaders' "snooping" charges.
"When the opposition has no issues, and they are trying to find some, we cannot help them. Our duty is to help the consumers and ensure their safety. The Sanchar Saathi app enables every consumer to ensure their safety... Sanchar Saathi portal has more than 20 crore downloads, and the app has more than 1.5 crore downloads... Sanchar Saathi has enabled the disconnection of nearly 1.75 crore fraudulent mobile connections," he said.
"Around 20 lakh stolen phones have been traced, and around 7.5 lakh stolen phones have been handed over to their owners, all because of Sanchar Saathi... This app does not enable snooping or call monitoring. You can activate or deactivate it as per your wish... If you don't want Sanchar Saathi, you can delete it. It is optional... It is about customer protection. I want to clear all misconceptions... It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it on their devices or not is up upto the user... It can be deleted from the mobile phone just like any other app," he added.
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