Can You Delete Sanchar Saathi App? Centre Clarifies After Oppn's 'Snooping' Charge

New Delhi: Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said that the Sanchar Saathi App, which the government has directed to pre-install on all mobile phones, can be deleted from

a smartphone if a user doesn't want the application.Making a statement on the matter, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said, "... If you don't want Sanchar Saathi, you can delete it. It is optional... It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it in their devices or not, is upto the user..."Earlier, reports have surfaced that Sanchar Saathi App will come pre-installed in all phones and the user won't have the option to delete it.

Scindia's clarification has come after a row had erupted after the Opposition accused the government of snooping and surveillance by making it mandatory for people to keep the Sanchar Saathi App in their smartphones.

Why Govt Wants Sanchar Saathi App in All Phones

To safeguard the citizens from buying the non-genuine handsets, enabling easy reporting of suspected misuse of telecom resources and to increase the effectiveness of the Sanchar Saathi initiative, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) mandated some norms for the manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets that are intended for use in India.They have been asked to ensure that the Sanchar Saathi mobile application is pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India.

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The mobile handsets must have pre-installed Sanchar Saathi application readily visible and accessible to the end users at the time of first use or device setup, and that its functionalities are not disabled or restricted, the Ministry of Communications said in a statement Monday evening.For all such devices that have already been manufactured and are in sales channels in India, the manufacturer and importers of mobile handsets shall endeavour to push the App through software updates.Directions mandate completing the implementation within 90 days and submitting the report within 120 days.

'Snooping App' Aimed at Invading Privacy: Congress on Sanchar Saathi App

After government's advisory, the Congress said the directive on the Sanchar Saathi App smacks of dictatorship and infringes on the right to privacy of citizens.Calling it a "snooping app", the party demanded its immediate rollback.The Department of Telecom (DoT) has directed manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets to ensure that its fraud reporting app Sanchar Saathi is pre-installed in all new devices within 90 days."The Sanchar Saathi is a snooping app, and clearly it is ridiculous. Citizens have the right to privacy. Everyone must have the right to privacy to send messages to family and friends without the government looking at everything," Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told reporters.

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She said the government is turning the country into a "dictatorship" and they are refusing to talk about anything and not allowing a discussion on anything and that is why Parliament is not functioning."It's not just snooping on the telephone. They're turning this country into a dictatorship in every form. Parliament isn't functioning because the government is refusing to discuss anything. It is very easy to blame the Opposition, but they're not allowing any discussion on anything, and that's not democracy," she said, adding that a healthy democracy demands discussion, and everybody has different views, and you hear them out.Vadra said there is a very fine line between reporting fraud and seeing what every citizen of India is doing on their phone."That's not how it should work. There should be an effective system to report fraud. We've discussed this at great length in terms of cyber security. There's a need for cyber security, but that doesn't mean it gives you an excuse to go into every citizen's phone. I don't think any citizen would be happy," the Congress leader said.Flaying the move, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said, "India has now become a 'surveillance state'.With inputs from ANI, PTI