Govt putting Indians’ security at risk with Chinese CCTVs: Rahul

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the Centre is putting India’s security at risk by failing to come clean on the presence of Chinese CCTV cameras and the role of foreign artificial intelligence platforms in handling sensitive data.

In a direct attack on the government led by Narendra Modi, Rahul said there was a clear attempt to hide facts and avoid scrutiny on issues linked to surveillance and cybersecurity.

He said while the government had restricted the public use of Chinese CCTV cameras, such equipment continued to remain installed in government buildings. He also flagged that banned Chinese mobile applications were reappearing under new names, while foreign AI platforms were processing data without any clarity or disclosure.

Calling it a “deliberate attempt to keep India in the dark”, Rahul said he had raised specific questions in Parliament but received no concrete answers.

He asked where the surveillance cameras in use were sourced from, how many of these had been security-certified, which foreign AI platforms were handling government data, and which banned apps were still operating in altered forms.

“The reply had words, but no facts,” he said, adding that there were no numbers, no names and no direct answers from the government.

Rahul pointed out that the Centre had earlier acknowledged risks linked to nearly 10 lakh Chinese cameras, particularly in relation to data transfer. He said there was still no clarity on whether the surveillance systems in use today were secure.

“By hiding the truth, the government is putting every Indian at risk,” he said.

Responding to Rahul's question in the Lok Sabha on March 25, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada said the government was aware of cybersecurity threats and had taken steps to strengthen safeguards.

The minister had added that mandatory security requirements had been introduced for CCTV systems and that efforts were underway to secure telecom networks against espionage threats.