Big Row Over Pre-installed Smartphone App Move: What's Behind It And What Opposition Is Saying

The Centre defended its decision to mandate the Sanchar Saathi application on all new mobile handsets, saying the move is essential to curb duplicate and spoofed IMEI numbers, which pose a “serious national

security risk.” Officials said India’s rapidly growing second-hand phone market and the easy resale of stolen or blacklisted devices have made it urgent to create a reliable system to trace phones in terror-related or cybercrime investigations.

According to government sources, phones carrying tampered or cloned IMEI numbers can appear in multiple locations at the same time on telecom networks, severely hampering identification of suspects. Spoofed IMEIs, officials said, allow criminals to evade tracking, while unsuspecting buyers of stolen devices are left vulnerable to criminal liability. The government argues the Sanchar Saathi app helps verify IMEIs, block stolen phones and prevent cyber misuse, stressing that the mandate is about “national security, not snooping.”

However, Opposition parties have sharply criticised the move, calling it unconstitutional and an attempt to enable state surveillance. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi compared the mandate to a “BIG BOSS surveillance moment,” saying the government was trying to “get into individual phones through shady ways.” She warned that such attempts “will be protested and opposed,” adding that instead of building strong grievance-redressal systems, the IT Ministry was “creating surveillance systems.”

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

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal also rejected the directive, calling it “beyond unconstitutional.” In a post on X, he said, “Big Brother cannot watch us,” arguing that the right to privacy is intrinsic to the fundamental right to life under Article 21. He described Sanchar Saathi as a “dystopian tool to monitor every Indian,” alleging it would watch over “every movement, interaction and decision” of citizens. The Congress demanded an immediate rollback, calling the mandate part of a pattern of “relentless assaults” on constitutional rights.

Political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla called the mandate “outrageous,” warning that pre-installing an app that cannot be uninstalled would give the Centre “the power to spy on our calls, texts and location.” He alleged the move would allow the government “to track us like criminals,” calling for public pushback.

Outrageous! Wake up INDIA! The Govt’s Sanchar Saathi app mandate is a blatant assault on our privacy & freedom! By forcing it pre-installed on every new phone, not allowing us to uninstall the aap, all under the guise of ‘safety’, the government will potentially have the power to… pic.twitter.com/bMTuVJmzSf

— Tehseen Poonawalla Official 🇮🇳 (@tehseenp) December 1, 2025

The government maintains that no personal data is accessed by the app and that its sole purpose is preventing misuse of illegal devices, a claim the Opposition continues to dispute.