New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday questioned the Centre’s Digital India campaign, saying the NDA government had taken no action against 600 illegal Chinese loan apps operating in the country, which had forced 52 Indians to commit suicide over the past few years. According to the Congress leaders, lower-middle-class people, who were hit by the Covid pandemic, took recourse to these illegal Chinese apps which offered cheap loans to them. Later, these apps trapped the same people in debt and started blackmailing them, forcing the clients to commit suicide.
While there were around 1200 such apps operating in India, the Reserve Bank of India had acknowledged that around 600 of them were illegal. Over the past few years, these apps had siphoned off around Rs 500 crore out of India, said the Congress leaders.
“See, the Modi government’s Digital India slogan is only for use in speeches. On the ground, there are a lot of problems. We have known that such illegal Chinese apps have been operating in the country for some years but no action has been taken by the government to block them,” AICC Secretary BM Sandeep told ETV Bharat.
He also expressed concern over Chinese intrusion across Indian borders in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, saying the government had earlier promised to show “red eyes” to China but has not done anything to counter the threat from the big neighbour. “Why is the government not showing red eyes to China now. They have intruded inside our borders. They killed our soldiers,” said Sandeep.
“The government initially banned some Chinese apps to show it was doing something but has been silent after that,” he said. AICC Secretary Chetan Chauhan said Digital India has proved to be another slogan among the many coined by the government, which is not aware of the connectivity problems in the rural areas.
“Digital India is just on paper. There are a lot of internet connectivity issues in the rural parts of the country. I know that farmers in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, who register with the government authorities for online payment of their crops, face a lot of problems,” Chauhan told ETV Bharat.
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“The Congress has been highlighting both threats on our borders and through online platforms from China. Like the controversial Pegasus software, China can use such tools to spy on Indians and may harm our economy. The government should work to tackle such threats,” he said. According to Congress spokesperson Prof Gourav Vallabh, it had been two years since the news of Chinese loan apps duping lakhs of Indians through its conspiracy of the debt trap surfaced but no action had been taken in the matter.
“An investigation between January and February 2021 found more than 1100 digital loan apps available across online play stores. The RBI accepted that at least 600 such apps were operating illegally. As per RBI, there was a jump of 12 times in loans on digital platforms between 2017 to 2020. Till now, 52 individuals in our country committed suicide due to blackmailing by these loan apps,” said Prof Vallabh.
According to the Congress leaders, the Modi government has weakened the Indian economy, pushing millions into poverty. “This is one of the main reasons why lower- and middle-income groups are forced to resort to such debt propositions. The other reason is the gross misdirection of focus for central agencies. Their resources are being directed to attacking opposition instead of tackling severe issues impacting us,” said Prof Vallabh.
Explaining the modus operandi of such fake loan apps, the Congress spokesperson said, the user installs the Chinese apps from the apps store or through direct message. At the time of installation, the apps ask for access to the user's phone book, photo gallery, messages, etc., without which the apps will not be installed. The user is asked to provide Aadhaar or PAN card details for KYC purposes.
The user is given seven days’ time for repayment of double the amount. But users will start receiving phone calls after five days. Even if the user pays the entire amount, without his requirement, some more money is transferred into his account or repayment is not updated, forcing the user to pay the penalty for late payment.
If the user cannot pay, his/her morphed image is shared with his friends and family. If this doesn't work, using call centres, they abuse the users with a warning to share their nude photographs.
“The incompetence of the central government and agencies has led to multiple cases of suicides due to such debt traps. Chinese loan app companies have siphoned off Rs 500 crore from India through the hawala route. There has been no strategy, no focus by the Modi government in evaluating priorities. Certain Chinese apps were banned in 2020 but the action on such apps has been lackluster,” said Prof Vallabh.
