‘If you don’t want…' Jyotiraditya Scindia says Sanchar Saathi app is optional amid strong Opposition protests

Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia claimed on Tuesday that the Sanchar Saathi app, a fraud reporting app the government wants pre-installed on all devices, will be optional and can be deleted by users.

“... If you don't want Sanchar Saathi, you can delete it. It is optional... It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it in their devices or not is up to the user,” he said to reporters.

Notably, the clarification comes amid Opposition MPs voicing their strong protest against the compulsory installation of this app on smartphones. The backlash began after the Department of Telecom (DoT) directed phone manufacturers and importers to ensure that its Sanchar Saathi app, designed to detect fraud, is pre-installed in all new devices within 90 days.

Notably, Reuters cited sources to report that US tech giant Apple plans not to comply with the mandate and will convey the same to New Delhi.

Congress demands immediate rollback of ‘snooping app’

Speaking to reporters on 2 December, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the government of dictatorship and infringing on the right to privacy of citizens, calling Sanchar Saathi a “snooping app”. The party has demanded that the government immediately roll back the app.

“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 said, accusing the Centre of turning the country into a “dictatorship”.

“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 added.

Priyanka Gandhi added that a healthy democracy demands discussion, and everybody has different views, and that 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 cybersecurity. There's a need for cybersecurity, 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,” she added.

Earlier, Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury filed an adjournment motion notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking suspension of business to discuss the government's directions on the installation of the Sanchar Saathi app. She demanded a discussion under Rule 267, which calls for setting aside all other business to take up the matter.

In a post on X, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said a preloaded app that cannot be deleted is a “dystopian tool”, adding, “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. 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.”

What did the DoT notification state?

• DoT directed phone manufacturers and importers to ensure that its Sanchar Saathi app, designed to detect fraud, is pre-installed in all new devices within 90 days.
• It added that all manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets that are intended for use in India shall submit compliance reports to the DoT within 120 days from the issuance of these directions.
• Failure to comply with these directions shall attract action under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, the Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024 (as amended), and other applicable laws.
• These directions shall come into force immediately and shall remain in force until amended or withdrawn by the DoT, the communique said.

(With inputs from PTI)