Sanchar Saathi app is BJP's biggest attack on privacy of citizens: Punjab FM Cheema

Chandigarh, Dec 3 (PTI) Senior AAP leader and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday slammed the Centre over its Sanchar Saathi app, alleging that it is an attempt to attack the privacy of the nation's people.

Meanwhile, the government withdrew the order mandating the pre-installation of the app on smartphones by manufacturers.

AAP leader Cheema said that the BJP has been in power at the Centre since 2014 and governs various states across the country, and yet, it is "continuously dismantling the Constitution, step by step", which was established by Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

A new ploy by the BJP has surfaced, a strategy to steal personal data and privacy in the modern age, he claimed.

"The Central government has assaulted the personal liberty of 144 crore people of the country with the Sanchar Saathi app," Cheema said, labelling the application as a new variant of surveillance software, Pegasus.

"This is, in a way, like a Pegasus-like software; it is merely another name for Pegasus, prepared to spy on the people of the country", he alleged.

The minister alleged that the BJP is preparing to use this tool to "steal" private data and strategise how to influence citizens.

"Moreover, the BJP plans to provide this stolen data to its crony capitalists so they can use citizens' personal information for their own benefit," he said.

He warned that the country is well aware of the BJP's "malicious" intent and how it plans to "misuse" data collected through this app, terming it "the biggest attack on the privacy of the country's people to date." Cheema raised concerns about the risk of political misuse, stating that the app could become a weapon for political surveillance by identifying and tracking contact numbers during elections and protests.

The controversy follows a November 28 order from the Telecom Ministry directing all mobile manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on new devices and push it as a mandatory update on existing phones.

The directive drew political criticism.

However, Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Tuesday, announced that users are free to delete the app, which will remain dormant till they register on it. PTI CHS MPL MPL