The Congress on Tuesday described the Department of Telecommunications' Sanchar Saathi app as a “snooping app” and called its pre-installation mandate “unconstitutional,” and demanded its immediate rollback.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that the government is turning the country into a dictatorship.
Asked about the issue by reporters outside Parliament, she said, "You are calling it a snooping app so you know what it is. So it is a snooping app. Clearly, it is ridiculous...citizens have their right to privacy, even all of you must be having the right to privacy to send your messages to family, friends, without the government looking at everything."
"It is not just one thing, it is not just snooping on the telephones, it is overall, they are turning this country into dictatorship in every form. You ask me everyday, why Parliament is not functioning, it is not functioning as they (the government) are refusing to talk about anything," the Congress general secretary said.
She said it is very easy to blame the opposition but the government is not allowing any discussion on anything.
"And that is not democracy," she alleged.
"A healthy democracy demands discussions, everybody has views, you hear them out," Gandhi said.
Asked whether the DoT order should be rolled back, she said, "They should do it. We will discuss today to finalise what our stand is."
On the argument that the app is for reporting fraud and essential for national security, she said there should be an effective system to report fraud and "we have discussed this at greater length on cyber security and definitely there is a need for cyber security but that does not mean that it gives you an excuse to go into every citizen's telephone." "I don't think any citizen would be happy with that," she added.
Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal pointed out that the right to privacy was an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and liberty.
“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 in a post on X.
“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,” Venugopal added.
He alleged that the move is part of a long series of relentless assaults on the constitutional rights of Indian citizens and asserted that it will not be allowed to continue. “We reject this direction and demand its immediate rollback,” he said.
Venugopal also shared the DoT direction issued under the Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024 (as amended), which requires the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app in mobile handsets to check their genuineness.
According to the communique, all manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets intended for use in India must submit compliance reports to the DoT within 120 days from the issuance of these directions.
Failure to comply will attract action under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, the Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024 (as amended), and other applicable laws. The directions have come into force immediately and will remain in force until amended or withdrawn.
Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury has filed an adjournment motion notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking suspension of business to discuss the government's directions on installation of the Sanchar Saathi app.
The party MP has demanded a discussion under Rule 267 which calls for setting aside all other business to take up the matter.
In her adjournment notice, Chowdhury said: "The Right to Privacy is an intrinsic facet of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The Department of Telecommunications' circular directing smartphone manufacturers and importers to pre-load the "Sanchar Saathi" application in a manner that cannot be deleted constitutes a grave affront to this fundamental right".
"Such a mandate enables pervasive surveillance and threatens to place every movement, interaction, and decision of citizens under constant watch, without adequate safeguards or parliamentary oversight," Chowdhury said.
"I, therefore, demand an adjournment of all business of the House to take up an urgent discussion on this critical issue affecting the rights and liberties of our citizens," she said in her notice.
CPM MP John Brittas also criticised the mandate.
“Govt’s grand plan for citizen empowerment: Make Sanchar Saathi app mandatory pre-installed on every phone. Anyone without this app should be removed from the voters list, CEC should be happy to do this,” he said.
“Pegasus is too expensive and Apple keeps sending those annoying warnings anyway. Has anyone heard about the outcome of CERT In’s probe into state sponsored iPhone hacks? Questions asked in Parliament on this are disallowed continuously. Next step obviously: ankle monitors, collars and brain implants for 1.4 billion people. Only then will the government finally know what we really think and do.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi called it “nothing but another BIG BOSS surveillance moment.”
“Such shady ways to get into individual phones will be protested and opposed and if the IT Ministry thinks that instead of creating robust redressal systems it will create surveillance systems then it should be ready for a pushback,” she wrote.
The DoT on Monday said the app must be visible, functional, and enabled for users during the first setup. Manufacturers must ensure the app is easily accessible during device setup with no disabling or restriction of its features.