Chandigarh-Senior AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia launched a sharp and scathing attack on the Modi government for its shocking move to forcibly install the “Sanchar Sathi” application on every mobile phone in the country.
Calling the decision a direct assault on personal freedom and fundamental privacy, Sisodia said the Modi government has issued orders that every mobile phone, old or new, will compulsorily contain this app, and users will not be allowed to delete it.
Sisodia warned that through this app, the government will gain access to people’s private conversations, contacts, communication patterns, WhatsApp frequency, and personal digital behaviour.
“Who you talk to, who you don’t talk to, what you discuss, what you order online, what you eat, what you search, everything will be tracked, collected and sold. This is data theft in the name of governance, ” he said.
He alleged that the BJP government wants to intrude into citizens’ phones not just for political surveillance but also to facilitate massive bank fraud and financial scams.
“This is not about helping people; this is about spying on people. The Modi government wants to sit inside your phone. Privacy has no meaning left in this country today.” Sisodia added.
Terming the move “dangerous, undemocratic and unacceptable, ” Sisodia said the BJP is turning India into a surveillance state. He stated that the name “Sanchar Sathi” is deliberately misleading:
“It is not a companion. It is not ‘Sanchar Sathi’. It is ‘SS’ - a surveillance system designed to track citizens, steal their personal information and hand it to big corporations.”
To AAP workers Sisodia said the common people must wake up to the reality of what the Modi government is doing, “Elections not just about who will win. It is about stopping a mindset that wants to control every aspect of your life. Such leaders must be defeated for the sake of democracy and freedom.”
He added, “A government that intrudes into the phones of its own people, steals their information and plays with their privacy deserves a tight slap from the public. The people must give them a clear message.”