File photo: AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday termed the DoT-mandated preloading of the Sanchar Saathi app on all new smartphones a “brazen attack on individual privacy” and demanded immediate withdrawal of the “diktat.” The department of telecom (DoT) has directed manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets to ensure that its, as claimed, fraud reporting app Sanchar Saathi is pre-installed in all new devices within 90 days. “The Modi government’s diktat to all mobile manufacturers to install Sanchar Saarthi app on all new and existing phones is a brazen attack on individual privacy and liberty. No democracy in the world has ever attempted to do so,” Kejriwal said in a post on X. “The notification issued by the government has no mention of seeking individual consent to install the app”, or “providing the option to delete it at any time,” he said. “@AamAadmiParty condemns such gross dictatorial actions and demands immediate withdrawal of the notification,” the former Delhi chief minister said.