Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday hit out at the government’s directive to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi App on mobile handsets, questioning the government’s intentions.
He compared the move to North Korea’s surveillance practices, citing Kim Jong Un’s regime.
Akhilesh Yadav told reporters, “What does the govt want to search in everyone’s phones? Is the government following the path of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un?”
Meanwhile, BJP National Spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters here that the app’s job is to provide security for users.
“Sanchar Saathi app cannot read your messages, it cannot listen to your calls, and it cannot breach your personal data. Its job is to provide security for users, stop fraud, track stolen mobile phones, and return them to their rightful owners. Sanchar Saathi is like a mobile phone reporter…It reports suspicious calls and fraudulent calls. You can report spam on Sanchar Saathi. You can report malicious links on Sanchar Saathi and protect you…,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued directions requiring manufacturers and importers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on devices sold in India to enhance consumer awareness and curb the circulation of duplicate or tampered IMEIs.
For devices already manufactured and available in sales channels, manufacturers and importers have been asked 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, where cases have been observed of stolen or blacklisted devices being resold, potentially making the purchaser an abettor in crime and causing financial loss.
