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The verbal battle between the Congress and the BJP over the alleged sale of data using social media platforms and applications continued on Monday too. While the Congress accused the Centre of spying on Indians, the BJP retorted by saying the Congress indulged in data theft using one of its apps.
“Modi’s NaMo App secretly records audio, video, contacts of your friends and family and even tracks your location via GPS. He’s the Big Boss who likes to spy on Indians,” Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted. “Now he wants data on our children. 13 lakh NCC cadets are being forced to download the APP,” he added with a hashtag “DeleteNaMoApp”. “If as PM he wants to use tech to communicate with India, no problem. But use the official PMO APP for it. This data belongs to India, not Modi,” the Congress president said.
Union Minister Smriti Irani countered Rahul and said even the cartoon character Chhota Bheem understands technology better than him. “RahulGandhi ji, even ‘Chhota Bheem’ knows that commonly asked permission on Apps don’t tantamount to snooping,” she said. “Ye kya RahulGandhi ji it seems your team is doing the opposite of what you asked for. Instead of #DeleteNaMoApp, they have deleted the Congress App itself,” she said, adding that “Now that we’re talking tech, would you care to answer @RahulGandhi ji why Congress sends data to Singapore Servers which can be accessed by any Tom, Dick and Analytica?”
‘Congress is hysterical’
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, the BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that this is a “classic case of technological illiteracy”.
“The Congress is running scared and has started spreading rumours and lies because they have been caught stealing data. The kind of bunkum tweets that Rahul Gandhi has been giving out only serve to expose his technological illiteracy. The next thing he will do, and I can predict it because of the illogical and illiterate behaviour he is exhibiting, is that he will say that the NaMo app is linked to EVMs. Because he is so used to exposing his illiteracy, he will claim that the BJP is winning elections after elections because NaMo app is manipulating the EVMs,” said Patra.
According to Patra, the Congress is “hysterical” and “running scared” because of the direct dialogue between the PM and the voters and BJP supporters. “For ten years, we had a dialogue-less government because Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi did not believe in dialogue with ordinary people. Now that Modiji has a direct connect with people, they are trying to close it by lying and propaganda,” said the BJP spokesperson.
He said NaMo app it is a medium that connects the PM and the BJP volunteers. Any smart application which sets up dialogue has a provisions which provide a platform for people to connect through sharing of contacts and other details.
“In a smart platform, a lot of things are interpreted to provide context. This data analysis is not equivalent to spying. People who are technologically ignorant are saying analysis is equivalent to spying. If there is a smart application and a platform sets up a friends group, the contacts are accessed,” he said, citing the example of media apps which share photos, files, contacts and other contents of the USB storage.
He said, it is the Congress, in fact, which is stealing data. “And when we pointed it out, they quickly removed the app.”
‘Personal data unsafe’
Countering Patra’s charges, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi wondered how safe the people’s money and their personal information were under the BJP-led government in the wake of a string of bank frauds and allegations related to data theft.
“It is an attempt like Bigg Boss of spying on Indians. Modiji is attacking the privacy. It is a data leak government,” Singhvi said in a press conference at the AICC headquarters.
“On one hand there is data leak in banks with crores being siphoned from the country by people like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallaya, and on the other there is leak of data happening in the country. “How safe is your data in banks? Today there is a loot in banks. People have run away with money. How safe is your money in the banks,” he added.
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