New Delhi, Dec 2: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday hit out at the government over the Sanchar Saathi App issue, alleging that it is yet another attempt by the BJP to strangulate the voice of the people and is akin to dictatorship.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has directed manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets to ensure that its fraud reporting app Sanchar Saathi is pre-installed in all new devices within 90 days.
“Sanchar Saathi app is yet another addition to the long list of attempts by the BJP to strangulate the voice of the people.
“The Modi Government’s unilateral directions to preload this app without taking into confidence various stakeholders and citizens is akin to dictatorship. Why does the Govt want to know what citizens talk with their family and friends?” he asked in a post on X.
Holding that one is not witnessing this for the first time, he said, “Income Tax laws were bulldozed to turn our digital lives into a 24×7 monitoring zone – every click, chat, and payment up for grabs without consent. RTI strangulated by tweaking Section 8(1)(j) via the DPDP Act 2023 – fewer questions, less accountability, more darkness.”
“Pegasus scandal proved what we feared: phones of 100+ Indians hacked – Opposition leaders, judges, journalists, even Union Ministers were snooped.
Snooping, surveilling, scanning and peeping to confiscate, control, command and monetise citizen’s rights is the hallmark of BJP’s tyrannical regime,” he said.
The Congress chief said no wonder, the Modi government had vehemently opposed making citizen’s privacy to be declared as a Fundamental Right in the Supreme Court.
“Democracy perishes. Dystopian era flourishes,” he alleged.
The Congress on Tuesday said the government’s directive on the Sanchar Saathi App smacks of dictatorship and infringes on the right to privacy of citizens.
Calling it a “snooping app”, the party demanded its immediate rollback. (PTI)
