A major controversy has erupted over the government’s move to make the Sanchar Saathi application a default app on all new mobile handsets, with the opposition claiming it amounts to a “Big Boss–style surveillance” move. The centre defended its move as essential to curb duplicate and spoofed IMEI numbers, which pose a “serious national security risk.” However, the opposition parties have sharply criticised the move, calling it unconstitutional and an attempt to enable state surveillance.
What Is Sanchar Saathi
A digital safety initiative of the Centre, Sanchar Saathi provides multiple citizen-centric services through a mobile app and its web portal. These services include Chakshu, which helps phone users report suspected cyber fraud.
According to the Sanchar Saathi website, the Chakshu feature allows people to report harmful web links and fraudulent messages. These include phishing links, attempts to clone devices, and other types of malware that can be delivered through SMS, RCS, iMessage, and social media platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Sanchar Saathi App- What the government say
Phones with tampered or cloned IMEI numbers can appear in multiple locations at the same time on telecom networks, making it very difficult to identify suspects. Officials have said that these fake IMEIs allow criminals to evade tracking, while unsuspecting buyers of stolen devices may also face legal consequences.
According to the government, the Sanchar Saathi app helps verify IMEIs, block stolen phones and prevent cyber misuse. The centre is stressing that the mandate is about “national security, not snooping.”
Sanchar Saathi App- What the Opposition says
The Congress and other Opposition parties have alleged that this is a step towards state surveillance and demanded the immediate rollback of this direction. They described the move as unconstitutional and an attempt to enable state surveillance.
“Big Brother cannot watch us!”- Congress
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal termed the order as ‘part of the long series of relentless assaults on the Constitutional Rights of Indian citizens and will not be allowed to continue.’ Venugopal took to X (erstwhile Twitter) and said, “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.”
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.
A pre-loaded government app that cannot be uninstalled is a… pic.twitter.com/kx33c7fmda
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) December 1, 2025
Another senior party leader, Karti Chidambaram, dubbed the pre-installed app as ‘Pegasus++’. Chidambaram added, “Big Brother will take over our phone & pretty much our entire private lives.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi compared it to a “Big Boss–style surveillance moment,” saying the government was trying to “access individual phones through shady means.”
Chaturvedi warned that such attempts “will be protested and opposed.” She also suggested that, instead of such measures, the government should focus on building strong grievance-redressal systems and accused the IT Ministry of “creating surveillance mechanisms.”
Sanchar Saathi mobile Application mandate to every mobile phone manufacturer as a permanent mobile feature by the GoI is nothing but another BIG BOSS surveillance moment.
Such shady ways to get into individual phones will be protested and opposed & if the IT Ministry thinks that…— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) December 1, 2025
What centre told phonemakers
The Department of Telecommunications, under the Ministry of Communications led by Jyotiraditya Scindia, has directed mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on all handsets made or imported in India. This directive must be implemented within 90 days, starting from November 28.
As per the order, companies have been given three months to comply with the new mandate, though industry executives anticipate pushback – especially since users will not be able to delete the app once it is preinstalled.
