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AAP MP and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha has even triggered a nationwide debate after revealing a so-called recharge scam within the Indian telecom industry. Chadha has vehemently blamed large players such as Jio, Airtel, and Vi in a speech in Parliament (February 2026) over the blocking of incoming calls when prepaid subscribers run out of balance or when time is expired.

He explained, "I understand why it is necessary to stop the outgoing calls because of low balance; however, blocking incoming calls is totally wrong. Chadha drew attention to how this practice skews the poor and daily wage workers who depend on their phone numbers to get a job, communicate with their family members, get informed about an emergency or important OTP payments of bank accounts, and important services. There is legal possession of the SIM card and phone by the user; hence, he wondered why he should be denied such fundamental incoming connectivity just to make him make regular recharges.

This is perceived by critics as a predatory monetization trick that telecom companies purportedly use to thrust minimum validity packages to maintain any service running in their systems and transform a basic need into a commodity. Numerous customers have vented their frustrations over the sector, with many having posted online about how they have failed to take important calls because of no balance with employers or with hospitals.

The intervention by Chadha has renewed demands on intervention by TRAI, calling for incoming calls to be allowed to remain free or, at any rate, limited as a consumer right and as part of digital inclusion. Those who admire him recommend that he defend the underdog, but the matter poses larger concerns concerning the question of equity in the booming Indian telecom industry. With outrage among people, more pressure is put on regulators to create reforms in order to defend millions of people against what Chadha describes as the exploitative digital lockout.