New Delhi (PTI): Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said snooping is neither possible nor will it happen with the Sanchar Saathi safety app, amid a row over his ministry's order asking smartphone makers to preload the state-run cybersecurity app on all new devices.

In Lok Sabha, Scindia said the app is for the protection of the people.

Sanchar Saathi app se "na snooping sambhav hai, na snooping hoga", the minister said during Question Hour.

In the context of the discussions about the app, the minister also said the government want to give power in the hands of the people to help them protect themselves.

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The ministry's order dated November 28, mandates all mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install Sanchar Saathi app in all handsets to be sold in India as well as in existing devices through software update.

It mandates mobile phone companies to 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.

On Tuesday, Scindia said users are free to delete the app if they don't want to use it.

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Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.

Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.

He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.

Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.

He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.

Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.

He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.