The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Sunday wrote a letter to the IT minister Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, urging that Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE should not be allowed to participate in 5G network rollout in India due to rising concerns on data security.

In the letter, CAIT National President BC Bharrtia & Secretary-General Praveen Khandelwal said that the 5G refers to the next-generation mobile networks that promise super-fast download speeds and the ability to support critical infrastructure and therefore is more critical from the point of accruing data.

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“We may like to mention that in several countries both Huawei and ZTE Corporation have been charged with a laundry list of crimes including conspiracy, money laundering, bank and wire fraud. We are sure that our above request will be considered by you and necessary decision will be taken to protect not only the security of the country but also the privacy of the people of India through data and as such both Huawei and ZTE Corporation will not be allowed to participate in 5G network rollout in India,” CAIT said in the letter to Prasad.

E-mails sent by PTI to Huawei India and ZTE India did not elicit any response till the time of filing the story.

The letter added that the government’s action towards Chinese firms has strengthened and boosted its boycott China campaign. “However, to give a stronger message to China and to the world, it is absolutely imperative that the Government immediately announce the banning of Huawei and ZTE Corporation and ensure that they do not participate in the much-coveted 5G rollout of India. When countries like USA, UK and Singapore have not allowed these firms in their country, there should be no second thought for India.”

US Federal Communications Commission recently designated Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE as “national security threats”, saying the major step was aimed at protecting American communications networks from security risks.

Further, the trader’s body also complimented the government for banning 59 Chinese apps and cancelling several other contracts with Chinese firms who were previously working in different governmental sectors.

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has been running a campaign for boycott of Chinese goods in the country.