New Delhi [India], December 3 (ANI): Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Wednesday welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to India, seeing it as an opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties.

Khurshid emphasised India's global standing, stating that the country is not alone and has strong friendships.

Speaking to ANI, Salman Khurshid said, '...In this time of turmoil around the world, this is a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends whom you know well and trust completely... The message will also go out everywhere that India is not alone; the friendship that has traditionally existed in India remains intact; so, when you speak to India, do so with the knowledge that India is not alone...'

President Putin will visit India from December 4-5 for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, Khurshid criticised the government's decision to mandate the Sanchar Saathi app, citing concerns over excessive surveillance. He questioned the need for such measures, advocating for a discussion before implementing such decisions

'What is the need for so much surveillance of everything in this country?... If we assume that everyone will make a mistake, and they already have, then what kind of atmosphere will prevail in this country?... You call it voluntary now, and who knows how soon it will be made involuntary?... There should have been a discussion about this app first before making any decisions,' Khurshid said.

Today, the Ministry of Communications revoked the requirement to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on mobile handsets imported or manufactured in India, days after proposing to mandate it.

The government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers, citing Sanchar Saathi's increasing acceptance in India.

The Ministry said in a statement that the government, with the intent to provide all citizens with access to cybersecurity, had mandated the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones.

The government maintains that the app is secure and intended solely to help citizens avoid bad actors in the cyber world.

'It helps in 'Jan bhagidari' by all citizens in reporting on such bad actors and actions while protecting users themselves. There is no other function other than protecting the users in the app, and they can remove the app whenever they want. This has been clarified by the Government,' the Ministry said. (ANI)