Mumbai: A major political storm broke out on Monday after the Centre directed mobile manufacturers to ensure that all phones produced or imported in India come pre-installed with the Sanchar Saathi app — a move the government says is meant to curb cyber fraud, but which the Opposition has denounced as an attempt at mass surveillance.
According to the Ministry of Communications, the decision was driven by a surge in cases involving tampered or duplicate IMEI numbers. The Ministry warned that cloned IMEIs allow the same identity to appear on multiple devices across different locations, posing “serious threats” to national telecom security. It further noted that India’s vast second-hand mobile market remains especially vulnerable to such risks.
However, the Opposition strongly rejected the rationale, calling the app an intrusion into citizens’ privacy. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led the attack, branding Sanchar Saathi “a snooping tool” and accusing the Modi government of eroding democratic freedoms.
“People have the right to private conversations without the government monitoring them,” she said, claiming that the Centre was “pushing the country towards dictatorship” by avoiding discussions in Parliament while expanding intrusive measures.
Echoing her concerns, Rajya Sabha MP Renuka Chowdhury said the app would not only interfere with personal privacy but also threaten corporate confidentiality. Senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala went a step further, comparing the mandatory installation to spyware systems used in authoritarian regimes.
“Is this India’s official version of Pegasus or North Korea’s RedFlag app?” Surjewala asked in a sharp social media post.
