Government hiding foreign surveillance via CCTVs, apps; public security at risk: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, April 4, 2026, alleged that the Modi government is risking the security of every Indian by trying to “cover up its own failures” and hiding the reality of foreign surveillance through Chinese cameras installed at vital locations.

“This is a deliberate conspiracy to keep India in the dark,” he said in a Hindi post on Facebook.

Mr Gandhi said the government had recently banned public use of Chinese CCTV cameras.

“Yet Chinese cameras are installed in government buildings. Banned Chinese apps are reemerging under changing names. Foreign AI platforms are processing sensitive data. And the government has absolutely nothing to say about it,” he said.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said that he asked these questions to the Ministry of Electronics and IT in the Parliament.

“The response contained a lot of verbiage but no response to the specific questions asked,” he claimed.

Mr Gandhi said: “From which countries did our cameras come? How many of them are certified for security? Which foreign AI platforms process government data? Which banned apps continue to operate under changed names? “There are no numbers, no answers in the ministry’s response; “Even the name of a single platform is not included,” he said.

Five years after admitting that ten lakh Chinese cameras used by the government pose a risk to data transmission, the government has still not declared whether the cameras monitoring us today are safe or not, the Congress leader said.

“The Modi government is putting the security of every citizen at risk by trying to cover up its own failures and conceal the realities of foreign surveillance,” Mr. Gandhi said.

Mr. Gandhi had asked an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha on March 25, to which Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada replied that the Government of India was aware of the cybersecurity risks posed by digital technologies.

“Over the last 12 years, numerous efforts have been made to strengthen India’s digital ecosystem, which is outlined below,” said Mr. Prasada.

In response to Mr. Gandhi’s question, he listed several steps taken by the government on “use of technology for espionage purposes”; these included protecting India’s telecom networks, strengthening the legal framework for network security and data protection, and strengthening the security of CCTV systems.

The minister said telecom networks are the most critical part of digital infrastructure.

“The government has taken a decisive step towards implementing the National Security Directive on Trusted Sources in 2021. This directive ensures that only telecommunications equipment from trusted sources is used in telecommunications networks in the country.”

“The government has strengthened the legal framework on network security and data protection. The government has notified the Telecommunications Act, 2023, which contains comprehensive provisions for the security of telecommunication networks in the country, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2022, which contains a legal framework to ensure the protection of personal data.” he said.

On strengthening the security of CCTV systems, the Minister said, “The government has introduced major reforms to strengthen the security of CCTV systems and notified the mandatory Essential Requirements required for CCTVs in the Indian market.” he said.