New Delhi: Congress General Secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday strongly criticised the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) reported directions to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on mobile handsets, calling it a “threat to citizens’ privacy” and warning that such measures could undermine democratic norms.
In a sharp statement, Gandhi said the app amounted to “snooping” and claimed that citizens must have the right to communicate privately with family and friends “without the government looking at everything.”
“There’s a very fine line between reporting fraud and monitoring what every citizen is doing on their phone,” she said, stressing that cybersecurity needs cannot justify invasive surveillance. “There should be an effective system to report fraud, but that doesn’t mean you go into every citizen’s phone. I don’t think any citizen would be happy.”
She also criticised the functioning of Parliament, alleging that the government was not allowing discussions on key issues. “A healthy democracy demands discussion. Everybody has different views, and you hear them out. Blaming the Opposition is easy, but refusing debate is not democracy,” she stated.
Gandhi added that while cybersecurity measures are important, they must be implemented with transparency and adequate safeguards to protect individual privacy.
The government has maintained that Sanchar Saathi is designed to help users prevent mobile fraud, track lost phones, and curb misuse of telecom services. However, opposition leaders and digital rights activists have raised questions about data protection and the potential for surveillance.
