‘Cybersecurity Must Be Voluntary’: Tharoor Criticises Govt’s Forced Sanchar Saathi Push
Government mandates undeletable Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones.
The Centre has quietly ordered smartphone makers to pre-install and push the government-developed Sanchar Saathi app on every new and existing handset sold in India, making it impossible for users to uninstall or disable the application. The directive, issued by the Department of Telecommunications, has sparked immediate accusations of mass surveillance and authoritarian overreach.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor questioned the compulsion behind the move, stating that cybersecurity tools must remain voluntary in a democracy. He demanded a transparent public explanation from the government rather than imposition through confidential orders leaked to the media, warning that mandatory pre-installation of any application raises serious concerns about individual autonomy.
Opposition voices have been unequivocal in their condemnation. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra labelled the app a “snooping tool” that crosses the line from fraud prevention into dictatorship-style monitoring of citizens’ private communications. Congress MP Karti Chidambaram termed it “Pegasus plus plus”, while Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and CPI(M)’s John Brittas warned of an emerging era of total digital surveillance.
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Privacy advocates highlight that Sanchar Saathi requires sweeping permissions including access to camera, call logs, messages, location, and network state. Although officially positioned as a device-verification and anti-theft platform, critics argue these permissions create a ready-made infrastructure for potential misuse far beyond its stated purpose.
The BJP has defended the mandate as a necessary safeguard against rising cyber fraud, insisting there is no threat to privacy and that a government-certified application is safer than third-party alternatives. As the controversy escalates, digital rights organisations and opposition parties are preparing to challenge the order on constitutional grounds of privacy and freedom.
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