‘No snooping’: Scindia defends Sanchar Saathi app amid political row, opp calls it 'fascist like North Korea'

The Union Minister for Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Wednesday (03 Dec) said snooping is neither possible nor will it happen with the Sanchar Saathi safety app. His clarifications come after he said on Tuesday (02 Dec) that users would have the option to activate the app only if they chose to, and would also be allowed to delete it.

Scindia's statement came after controversy erupted following his ministry's direction to smartphone manufacturers to preinstall a government-backed cybersecurity app on all new devices. The opposition sharply criticised the move, accusing the government of using the app as a surveillance tool against political rivals and citizens.

According to the news agency PTI, Scindia said in the Lok Sabha that the app is for the protection of the people. Sanchar Saathi app se "na snooping sambhav hai, na snooping hoga," the minister added during Question Hour.

Addressing concerns over the app, the minister said the government intends to empower people by giving them tools to safeguard themselves. ""Sanchar Sathi app has a proven record; a tool to save people from 'cancer of fraud'," he added.

Oppositions call for the withdrawal of the directive

Amid the row over the Sanchar Saathi app, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram told PTI, "What the minister (Jyotiraditya Scindia) is saying is contrary to the directive issued by the DoT. If what the minister is saying is correct, the directive must be withdrawn. The directive very clearly said that the App has to be pre-loaded in all smartphones and can not be deleted... that option of delete can not be there - that is what the directive is saying. If the minister is saying something contrary to the directive, then the directive must be withdrawn. As long as the directive is there, the minister's words don't carry weight."

In addition, Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala also said that the Sanchar Saathi app will act as surveillance through which the government can track every activity of the smartphone user using the app. Raising security concerns from international hackers, he added that if they successfully hack the Sanchar Saathi app, then there will be a huge data breach.

"India is being transformed into a surveillance state through the Sanchar Saathi app. The government has made it mandatory for every cellphone manufacturer and importer to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app. The government has also asked cellphone manufacturers to install the Sanchar Saathi app in existing smartphones via a software update. The third part of the order says that the Sanchar Saathi app can neither be amended nor deleted. The government can now track every activity of the smartphone user using the Sanchar Saathi app... The government can possibly listen to all your conversations. The government will have all your call and chat records... Your financial transactions will also be available to the government, including your private photographs. God forbid, if an international hacker hacks the Sanchar Saathi app, then there will be a huge data breach. Making this mandatory without the consent of the smartphone users is against the law and it should not be imposed. Was there any discussion with any stakeholder? No... I have raised this issue in the Parliament and sought answers from the government... Why are they forcibly installing the app in smartphones if they can be deleted later? What is the point? If there is a data breach during this, will the minister take ownership? Will he be accountable?... India is being transformed into a fascist country like North Korea," news agency ANI quoted Surjewala as saying.