DoT’s Mandate to preinstall Sanchar Saathi on handsets snowballs into controversy; Congress calls “unconstitutional” and demands its roll back

After the Opposition upped its attack alleging the “mandatory” pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app in mobile handsets is done to snoop and monitor activities of every citizen, the government swung into action and clarified that the users can deactivate or delete the app if they don’t want to use it.

The clarification comes a day after the Government mandated installation of “Sanchar Saathi” app in all mobile handsets, manufactured in India or imported, to prevent the sale of non-genuine phones, stop misuse of telecom resources and enhance cybersecurity. This was objected by the opposition and termed the move as “unconstitutional” and demanded its roll back immediately.

Union Minister for Communications and Development of the Northeastern Region, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, has said that the Sanchar Saathi is completely democratic and fully voluntary. “…users can activate the app at their convenience to access its benefits, and they may deactivate or delete it from their devices at any time,” the minister said in an official statement.

Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ms Priyanka Chaturvedi took a dig at the Union Minister and posted on X saying the minister should read the notification before calling it a needless controversy “bewajah ki controversy” and pointed out that the notification clearly stated that the app’s functionality is neither disabled nor restricted.

Yesterday the government had said that in order to safeguard the citizens from buying the non-genuine handsets, enabling easy reporting of suspected misuse of telecom resources and to increase effectiveness of the Sanchar Saathi initiative, the DoT has issued Directions dated 28.11.2025 mandating the manufacturer and importers of mobile handsets that are intended for use in India under the provisions of the Telecom Cyber Security to – i) Ensure that the Sanchar Saathi mobile application is pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India; ii) Ensure that the pre-installed Sanchar Saathi application is 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; and iii) For all such devices that have been already been manufactured and are in sales channels in India, the manufacturer and importers of mobile handsets shall make an endeavour to push the App through software updates.

The government asked the handset manufacturers and importers to comply with the direction in 90 days and report compliance within 120 day.

Objecting to the directive, Congress General Secretary and MP K C Venugopal said “Big brother cannot watch us” and this DoT direction is beyond unconstitutional.

“The right to privacy is an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and liberty, enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution,” he said on his social media handle X.

Scindia, however, emphasised that protecting consumers is the Government’s foremost responsibility, and Sanchar Saathi has been designed to empower every mobile user. “Sanchar Saathi is both an app and a portal that enables citizens to secure themselves through transparent, easy-to-use tools. It is a significant step toward Jan Bhagidari, where citizens actively participate in protecting their own digital ecosystem,” he said.

The minister pointed out that the impact of Sanchar Saathi was visible and delivered strong results since its launch, by way of — 21.5 crore plus portal visits, 1.4 crore plus app downloads, more than 1.43 crore mobile connections disconnected by citizens selecting “Not My Number”, 26 lakh lost/stolen mobile phones traced, with 7.23 lakh successfully returned and 40.96 lakh fraudulent connections disconnected based on citizen reports and Rs 475 crore in potential financial losses prevented through the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI).

Venugopal further said that a pre-loaded government app that cannot be uninstalled is a “dystopian” tool to monitor every Indian. It is a means to watch over every movement, interaction and decision of each citizen. “This is a part of the long series of relentless assaults on the Constitutional Rights of Indian citizens and will not be allowed to continue.

“We reject this direction and demand an immediate rollback,” Venugopal said.

The DoT said that the Telecom Cyber Security (TCS) Rules empowers the Central Government to issue directions to manufacturers of telecommunication equipment bearing IMEI number to provide assistance as required in relation to tampered telecommunication equipment or IMEI number. The Rules also mandates that such manufacturers or importers shall ensure compliance with the directions as may be issued by the Central Government for the purpose of giving effect to the rules.