How is it a basic requirement? No apps should be able to make and manage phone calls apart from your caller app. Even WhatsApp does not need this, and apps that use cellular calling can just open the phone number in the caller app, as they do when e.g. you click on a number in chrome.
Im not disagreeing that the level of privlage escelation is insane and beyond the pale, it is. I am merely pointing out that singling out one app for requesting this promission when thus has become the industry standard is, at best uninformed and at worst feels like your trying to hide something
Honestly I had no idea this was an industry standard, this is the only app I've seen in the past 10 years which requested such a permission. The last one was "Siri" for Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread off Android Market, and it stole 15 RUB from me.
If people are going to waste my time with that "never complain about anything unless you can offer a solution" crap I'll waste their time with a similarly stupid answer.
That's not at all how that works. Of course you can be called and answer phone calls while any app is open without any permissions, it just changes to the caller app. Have you literally never taken a phone call while on your phone before?