The Ministry of Defence on Monday said it had no transactions with Israel’s NSO Group Technologies as it issued a statement on the ‘Pegasus Project’ row in Parliament. The NSO Group is the firm that develops the Pegasus spyware.

The Ministry gave a written reply in the Rajya Sabha to Dr V Sivadasan who asked ‘whether government had carried out any transaction with the NSO Group Technologies.

While the defence ministry has categorically dismissed holding any dealings in the alleged snoopgate, other ministries such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs or the Cabinet Secretariat are yet to issue a statement in the matter since surveillance and intelligence gathering is a function of different agencies.

The Pegasus row involves the alleged snooping on and the hacking of phones of several Opposition leaders, members of the judiciary, journalists critical of the government and even some ministers.

Earlier today, Opposition MPs created a ruckus in Rajya Sabha over the Pegasus Project and raised slogans and posters demanding discussion on the issue.

In Lok Sabha, Congress MP Manish Tewari moved an adjournment motion notice, terming the Pegasus spyware issue ‘a matter of grave concern’. 

“Reports have pointed out that the Government of India has procured the surveillance tool Pegasus developed by Israeli company NSO Group for surveillance of Journalists, Civil Society Activists, Politicians and Supreme Court Judges. Since the NSO group’s policy is that clients are confined to the vetted government only it suggests that the spyware was used by the GoI and not any other private body,” the Congress MP said in his adjournment motion.

“It should be noted that this kind of surveillance classifies as hacking, which is what spyware does and it would very much qualify as unauthorised interception or hacking as per Information Technology Act, 2000. The fact is that the government has not categorically denied that Pegasus has been used officially. Sir this is a matter of grave concern and therefore I wish to raise the same,” he added.