Pegasus row: Modi govt hijacked democracy, deceived Parliament, says Cong
Guwahati: According to the New York Times, Israel gave Pegasus, a programme that cracks encrypted messages on iPhones and Androids, to countries like India, Hungary, Poland, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico in exchange for shifting their UN stance.
India bought Pegasus, a notorious spyware technology, in 2017 as part of a broader arms transaction with Israel, according to the New York Times.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to Israel in 2017, the Pegasus was given to him as part of a $ 2 billion package that included missiles. Following that, India voted in favor of Israel in the UN Economic and Social Council, denying a Palestinian human rights organization observer status. “Access helped Israel win votes at the UN and strike an accord with Arab rivals,” the tabloid stated.
The investigation’s Indian counterpart, performed by a group of journalists, discovered that the great majority of mobile phones reportedly targeted by Pegasus belonged to critics of the Modi regime. The story has been denounced by the government as a “sensational attempt” to “malign Indian democracy,” while Israel’s Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, has maintained that Tel Aviv oversees all NSO shipments.
Not only the opposition, but even BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, who claimed that the NYT story meant that the administration misled the Supreme Court and Parliament, and wondered if it was another “Watergate” crisis.
“Modi government must rebut New York Times revelations today that It did indeed subscribe by payment from taxpayers money of ₹ 300 crores to spyware Pegasus sold by Israeli NSO company. This implies prima facie our Govt misled the Supreme Court and Parliament. Watergate?” Swamy said.
Modi government must rebut 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. This implies prima facie our Govt misled Supreme Court and Parliament. Watergate ?
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) January 29, 2022
Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Modi government bought Pegasus to spy on the primary democratic institutions, politicians, and public. “Government functionaries, Opposition leaders, armed forces, judiciary all were targeted by these phone tappings. This is treason. Modi government has committed treason,” he 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.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 29, 2022