"Turning country into a dictatorship": Priyanka Gandhi slams Centre for mandating Sanchar Saathi app on mobiles

New Delhi [India], December 2 (ANI): The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) move to mandate the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi application in all mobile handsets manufactured or imported in India has caused a political storm. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday criticised the recent order by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) mandating pre-installation of the cyber fraud reporting app Sanchar Saathi in all mobiles.
While talking about the need to have a robust cyber fraud reporting mechanism, the Congress MP said there is a fine line between reporting fraud and violating the privacy of individuals, with the recent order doing the latter, she claimed.
"It's not just one thing. It is not just snooping on telephones. It is overall, they are turning this country into a dictatorship. You ask me everyday why Parliament is not functioning, it is because they are refusing to talk about anything. It is very easy to blame Opposition, but the fact is they are not allowing discussion on anything," Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament premises.
She said that there has been extensive discussion on cyber security already, and there is a need to have a proper fraud reporting system, this rule simply violates the privacy of individuals.
"There should be an effective system to report fraud, and we have discussed this at great lengths at cyber security. There is a need for cyber security, I don't think any citizen would agree," she added.
Congress leader KC Venugopal also criticised the Centre for the DoT mandate. The party is set to hold a meeting and decide on the stance regarding the issue, Priyanka Gandhi said.
"I have not talked with everyone, we will discuss and see what our stance will. It is a fine line between fraud being easy to report (cyber fraud) and we (government) can see everything that every citizen of India is doing on their phones. That is not how it should work," she said.
The DoT has issued directions to 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 setup and that its functionalities are not disabled or restricted.
For devices that have already been manufactured and are currently in sales channels across the country, manufacturers and importers have been asked to make efforts to push the application via software updates.
According to the ministry, the directions issued on November 28 aim to safeguard citizens from purchasing non-genuine mobile devices, enable easy reporting of suspected misuse of telecom resources, and enhance the overall effectiveness of the Sanchar Saathi initiative.
The Telecommunication Cyber Security (TCS) Rules empower the Central Government to issue directions to manufacturers of telecommunication equipment bearing International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers to provide assistance as required in relation to tampered telecommunication equipment or IMEI numbers.
India has a large second-hand mobile device market. Cases have also been observed where stolen or blacklisted devices are being resold. It makes the purchaser an abettor in crime and causes financial loss to them. (ANI)