Software and technology giant Google has just removed an app from its Play Store. Removing apps is not a new thing for the company. However, this particular app has gained attention because it seems to be an “anti-India” app. The removal comes right after Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urged Google to take the app down. Singh claimed that this app is secessionist and anti-India in nature. The removed app in question is the “2020 Sikh Referendum”. A spokesperson for the CM office revealed that the app is no longer available on the Play Store.
Anti-India app on Google Play details
The Chief Minister also urged the Central government to persuade Google on the matter. He asked the Director-General of Police to coordinate with Central security agencies to tackle the threat from the app. Taking a closer look at the app, it was created by ‘ICETECH’. The app asked the general public to register themselves to vote in the ‘Punjab Referendum 2020 Khalistan’. A website with the address of www.yes2khalistan.org was also launched on the same lines for the same purpose.
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The Cyber Crime Centre of the Bureau of Investigation of Punjab had moved to get the app removed. In addition to removing the app from the Google Play Store, it also pushed to get the website blocked. The department sent a notice to Google on November 8 to remove the app. This notice was part of Section 79 (3) B of the Information Technology Act.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that we have seen an app removal. This is somewhat more ordinary from what we have seen in the past. As per past India is one of the most active countries when it comes to blocking apps or websites. In fact, this removal is not likely going to be last for the government.
With inputs from IANS.
