The Pegasus spyware developed by Israel’s NSO group has found its way to Congress’s agenda in India. Reports surfaced that the former party President Rahul Gandhi along with others are under the radar of the Pegasus. Following this, Congress has planned a nationwide agitation.
Congress To Raise The Issue Of Pegasus In The Parliament
As per the latest reports, at least two mobile phone accounts used by Rahul Gandhi were among the 300 verified Indian numbers that were listed as the potential target. This information comes from an official Indian client of the Israeli surveillance technology vendor, NSO Group.
Following this, Congress has asked their state units to march towards the Raj Bhavan in their respective states and to lodge the protest. They also plan to hold press conferences in each state. In Parliament as well, the party has moved a suspension notice in the Rajya Sabha by K.C Venugopal and an adjournment motion in Lok Sabha.
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On Monday, Congress expressed concerns towards Home Minister Amit Shah’s views on the Pegasus issue. They questioned if Amit Shah who is in charge of the country’s internal security be “sacked forthwith”.
“Does this not warrant a full investigation into the role of the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, and others involved?”, said Congress.
They further said that it’s “shocking and sensational” that news reports are disclosing the illegal and unconstitutional hacking of cell phones. The targets include Constitutional functionaries, Union Cabinet ministers, senior leaders of the opposition, lawyers, journalists, senior leaders of the opposition, and many more.
Union Home Minister Responds To Allegations
Following the allegations by the opposition, Amit Shah responded with his noteworthy phrase “Aap Chronology Samajhiye”. In a statement he said that the claims by the Pegasus are a ‘report by the disrupters for the obstructers”.
Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the Parliament that the suspected targets of the Pegasus spyware are “baseless”. And were (reportedly) published, deliberately, a day before the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
