Raghav Chadha questions ‘loot’ on pay as you go recharge plans
2 min learnNew DelhiMar 12, 2026 03:48 PM IST
Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has raised the difficulty of pay as you go recharge for cell phones within the Parliament on Wednesday, saying that telecom corporations are perpetrating a “loot” within the identify of the 28-day recharge plan. The Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP) chief mentioned that pay as you go subscribers make up practically 90 per cent of India’s 125 crore cell customers, calling for transparency within the method utilized by the businesses.
Throughout the ongoing Price range session within the Parliament, Chadha referred to as for an extended validity on incoming calls if the pay as you go steadiness expires, and an extension on the quantity deactivation interval.
“In case your recharge runs out, it is sensible for outgoing calls to be blocked, however blocking incoming calls is unfair. As quickly because the recharge expires, neither can anybody contact you, nor can important messages like OTPs attain your telephone. In emergency conditions, the particular person turns into helpless,” he mentioned.
Immediately I raised the difficulty of looting of pay as you go recharge clients in Parliament.
(a) In case your recharge is over then it’s comprehensible to cease outgoing calls, however it’s arbitrary to cease incoming calls. As quickly because the recharge is over, neither anybody can contact you nor are you able to ship OTP in your telephone… pic.twitter.com/VU0LuRohKK
— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) March 11, 2026
The AAP MP additionally raised that the 28-day month-to-month recharge plans by telecom corporations result in the buyer paying for one additional month yearly.
“The 28-day recharge plan is a rip-off. There are 12 months in a 12 months, however it’s important to recharge 13 occasions (28 days x 13 occasions = 364 days),” he mentioned in Parliament.
“The validity of the recharge plan must be primarily based on calendar months (30–31 days), as a result of as a consequence of this 28-day cycle, individuals find yourself having to do one additional recharge over the course of the 12 months.”
The MP laid out calls for on behalf of the customers, asking for an extension of providers on SMS and incoming calls as much as one 12 months after the final recharge.
“In as we speak’s time, a cell is not a luxurious, however has grow to be a necessity for the widespread citizen. Due to this fact, telecom corporations ought to preserve a good and clear method with shoppers,” Raghav Chadha mentioned.