Congress attacked the Center over a New York Times report that claimed the Indian government had bought Pegasus spy tolls in 2017 as part of a deal with Israel, saying illegal espionage using spyware was “treason”. Is.
As The New York Times reports, the Israeli spyware Pegasus and a missile system were the “centerpieces” of a nearly $2 billion deal between India and Israel in 2017 for sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear.
Attacking the government, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said on Twitter, “Why did the Modi government act like enemies of India and use weapons of war against Indian citizens?”
“It is treason to do illegal espionage using Pegasus. No one is above the law and we will ensure that justice is served,” he said.
PTI has reached out to the government for a response on the NYT report, but there was no immediate response.
Citing media reports, Congress spokesperson Shama Mohammed said it was “incontrovertible evidence” that the BJP government used military-grade spyware to spy on citizens of India, including former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
There should be accountability, he demanded.
Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil alleged that the “disclosures” in the report meant that the government “misled” the Supreme Court and Parliament on the issue.
He tweeted, “Why @narendramodi is silent? It is the duty of @PMOIndia to clarify. The New York Times today revealed that it has actually made Pegasus spyware sold by Israeli NSO company for payment of ₹ 300 cr from taxpayers money. subscribed,” he tweeted.
“It means our government has misled the Supreme Court and Parliament,” Gohil said.
Youth Congress chief Srinivas Biwi also tweeted, citing media reports, ‘So proved! The watchman is the only spy..’
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged in a tweet that the spyware was not used for defense purposes but to spy on the opposition and journalists.
“If BJP is there then it is possible. They have made the country a Bigg Boss show,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said, “The Modi government should refute the New York Times disclosure today that it actually paid T 300 crore from taxpayers money to Pegasus, the spyware sold by the Israeli NSO company.
“It means prima facie our government misled the Supreme Court and Parliament. Watergate?” He tweeted.
An international investigative association claimed last year that several people, including Indian ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen and journalists, were potentially targeted by NSO Group’s phone hacking software.
The Supreme Court had set up a three-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of Pegasus for targeted surveillance in India.
The government had denied all the allegations leveled against it in this case.