Shashi Tharoor on Sanchar Saathi App: 'Making anything compulsory in a democracy is troubling'

Shashi Tharoor was speaking to reporters in Parliament complex amid Winter Session.

Amid Department of Telecom directions to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi App on mobile handsets, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said “these apps can be useful provided they are voluntary”.

He told the media that  he had  not studied the issue in full detail.  "Common sense tells me that these apps can be useful provided they are voluntary. Everybody who needs them should be able to download them. Making anything compulsory in a democracy is troubling. But I need to look a little more into what the logic is of the government. In fact, the government should explain all this to the public instead of just passing an order that the media reports. I think we need to have a discussion where the government explains what their thinking is," he said.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Telecom and Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday clarified that the Sanchar Saathi app remains completely optional amid the ongoing controversy. He said the app can be deleted at any time and functions only after a user chooses to activate it.

Scindia added that the government’s role is limited to making the app available as a tool for public safety. “Keeping it on their devices or not is entirely up to users," he said, rejecting claims of mandatory installation.

full control over its activation and can delete it anytime, making it completely optional. “Our duty is to help the consumers and ensure their safety. The Sanchar Saathi app enables every consumer to ensure their safety. Sanchar Saathi portal has more than 20 crore downloads, and the app has more than 1.5 crore downloads. Sanchar Saathi has enabled the disconnection of nearly 1.75 crore fraudulent mobile connections. Around 20 lakh stolen phones have been traced, and around 7.5 lakh stolen phones have been handed over to their owners, all because of Sanchar Saathi. This app does not enable snooping or call monitoring," said Scindia.