'These apps can be useful': Shashi Tharoor backs Sanchar Saathi in fresh divergence from Congress

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has backed the Centre's move to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on new mobile phones, saying the tool "can be useful provided they are voluntary". Tharoor's remark risks embarrassing the Congress leadership, which has rejected the directive as unconstitutional.

"Common sense tells me that these apps can be useful provided they are voluntary," the Congress MP said while speaking to news agency ANI. "Everyone who needs them should be able to download them. Making anything compulsory in a democracy is troubling. I need to look more into the logic of the government." 

Tharoor further said that the government should explain everything to the public instead of just passing an order via media reports. "We need to have a discussion where the government reports the idea behind the decision."

His comments stand out at a time when Congress has taken a hard line against the move. Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal called the direction a violation of fundamental rights.

"Big Brother cannot watch us. 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.

He added, "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… We reject this direction and demand its immediate rollback."

The Department of Telecommunications on Monday directed all manufacturers and importers to pre-install the government's cyber-fraud reporting app on every new handset within 90 days. Under the order dated November 28, devices already in the sales chain will need to receive the app through software updates. 

The direction was issued under the Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024, with manufacturers required to submit compliance reports within 120 days.

Amid mounting privacy concerns and political criticism, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified that the app remains optional. "If you want, you can activate it; if you don't, then don’t activate it," the minister said: "If you don't want Sanchar Sathi, you can delete it. It's not mandatory. It is optional." The tool involves no surveillance and is intended only to curb cyber fraud, Scindia added.