‘Prepaid recharge customers are being looted…’ Raghav Chadha raised the issue of closure of incoming calls and validity of only 28 days in Parliament.
Parliament Budget Session 2026 Live : Telecom companies in India stop the facilities of incoming calls and messages after the prepaid recharge is over. Due to which people stop receiving emergency calls or necessary OTPs. This issue has been raised by Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha in Rajya Sabha. He has accused the companies of looting customers in the House. Along with this, he demanded to increase the validity of recharge from 28 days to 30-31 days.
Read :- Father became Rajya Sabha MP from BJP, son joined Congress, Sonia Gandhi came out in support.
AAP MP Raghav Chadha said in the House, ‘There are 125 crore mobile phone users in India, out of which 90% are prepaid plan users. I would like to raise two problems on behalf of prepaid plan users… The first problem is that incoming and outgoing calls and SMS are stopped after the recharge is over… It is understandable to stop outgoing calls after the recharge is over, but it is inappropriate to stop incoming calls… Mobile number has become our digital identity. When the recharge ends, important things like UPI payment, banking OTP, train ticket OTP, PAN-Aadhaar authentication, interview call, hospital call, or call from parents from the village stop… Stopping incoming calls is not stopping the service, but snatching the right to communication.
Today I raised the issue of looting of prepaid recharge customers in Parliament.
(a) If your recharge is over then it is understandable to stop outgoing calls, but it is arbitrary to stop incoming calls. As soon as the recharge is over, neither anyone can contact you nor can you send OTP on your phone… pic.twitter.com/VU0LuRohKK
— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) March 11, 2026
Read :- ‘Coup in Bihar, betrayal of mandate’, Congress attacks BJP on Nitish Kumar going to Rajya Sabha
Chadha further said, ‘For example: Aadhaar card does not expire for not updating it, bank account does not get closed for not making monthly deposits, Voter ID does not get suspended for not voting in an election. Similarly, the mobile number should not be suspended or deactivated if you forget to recharge. They are not asking for free outgoing or data, but incoming calls should be guaranteed. I have three demands, first demand – incoming calls and SMS should continue for at least one year from the date of last recharge, so that important communication continues. Second demand- Mobile number deactivation should be after a grace period of at least 3 years, so that it is not allotted to anyone else. Third demand – Mobile operators should bring low cost “incoming only” plans, like 180 days of incoming facility for ₹10.
Second issue 28 days monthly recharge plan
AAP MP Raghav Chadha raised questions in Rajya Sabha regarding the validity of 28 days. He said, ‘There are 12 months in a year, but with a 28-day plan, users have to recharge 13 times (28 × 13 = 364 days). This is a clever strategy, in which it gives the feel of 30 days but deals only for 28 days. Everywhere in the world, the billing cycle is according to the calendar month (30-31 days), like monthly salary, rent, bank EMI, electricity-gas bill. But telecom operators sell plans of 28 days, so that there is one extra recharge in a year. They hope to end this practice.
Comments are closed.