The Opposition sharpened its attack at the BJP-led Centre over a New York Times report which claimed that India bought the Israeli Pegasus spyware in 2017 as part of an arms deal, saying illegal snooping using the software amounts to “treason”.
Sharing the report on Twitter, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “Modi Govt bought Pegasus to spy on our primary democratic institutions, politicians and public. Govt functionaries, opposition leaders, armed forces, judiciary all were targeted by these phone tappings. This is treason. Modi Govt has committed treason.”
According to the NYT report, India bought controversial Israeli-made Pegasus spyware in 2017 as part of a USD 2-billion defence deal of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear. India had reportedly signed the arms deal during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to Israel – the first by an Indian Prime Minister to that country.
The report titled ‘The Battle for the World’s Most Powerful Cyberweapon’, claimed that the spyware, which is classified as military-grade software and produced by the Israeli firm NSO Group, was part of a “package of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear worth roughly USD two billion” between India and Israel.
Hitting out at the Centre over the report, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said on Twitter, “Why did Modi Govt act like the enemies of India and use a warfare weapon against Indian citizens?”
“Illegal snooping using Pegasus amounts to treason. No one is above the law and we will ensure that justice is served,” he said.
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged the spyware was used not for defence purposes but to snoop on opposition and journalists. “If there is BJP, it is possible. They have made the country into a Bigg Boss show,” she said in a tweet in Hindi.
Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil alleged that the “revelations” in the report imply that the government “misled” the Supreme Court and Parliament on the issue.
“Why @narendramodi is silent? It is @PMOIndia’s duty to clarify. New York Times revelations today that It did indeed subscribe by payment from tax payers money of 300 crores to spyware Pegasus sold by Israeli NSO company,” he tweeted.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that the Modi government is “deployer and executor of illegal and unconstitutional spying”.
“Shocking and new expose in an international publication has now established what Congress always maintained, that Modi government is deployer and executor of illegal and unconstitutional spying and snooping racket through Israeli surveillance spyware Pegasus and PM Modi is himself involve,” he said.
A political storm erupted last year after an international media consortium had reported that more than 300 verified mobile phone numbers of eminent personalities, including opposition leaders and ministers in India could have been allegedly targeted for hacking through Israeli Pegasus spyware sold only to government agencies.
The BJP government has categorically dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people, saying attempts were being made to “malign” Indian democracy.
In October last year, the Supreme Court constituted a three-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of the Israeli spyware Pegasus,
