Sanchar Saathi app: Govt spells out the mandate
A day after the Department of Telecom (DoT) mandated Sanchar Saathi application on all new mobile phones, Union Minister for Telecom Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified, “If you want, you can activate it; if you don’t, then don’t activate it... If you don’t want Sanchar Sathi, you can delete it. It’s not mandatory. It is optional.” The minister was speaking outside the Parliament. His clarification came after the Opposition raised privacy concerns and fears of State surveillance. They also demanded the immediate rollback of this direction.
Scindia added that the app involves no spying or call monitoring and that the motive behind the direction was only to ensure wider access to a tool designed to curb cyber fraud. The DoT order dated November 28, addressed to all manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets that are intended for use in India, stated, “Ensure that the pre-installed Sanchar Saathi application is readily visible and accessible to the end users at the time of first use or device set up and that its functions are not disabled or restricted.”
BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra also reiterated the Government’s clarification that users would be free to delete the app from their mobile devices if they do not want to use it.
Taking a dig at the Congress, he said, “I know who will delete it… Chor ki dadhi mein tinka (a guilty conscience needs no accuser). You know very well who they are. An FIR has also been filed against them. They have swindled `5,000 crore. At present, they are out on bail.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, however, alleged that the Government’s move is yet another attempt by the BJP to strangulate the voice of the people and is akin to dictatorship.
