WhatsApp snooping: Priyanka raises concern over use of Israeli agencies

Gandhi said if the allegations were true, it would be a human rights violation

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi | PTI Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi | PTI

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said if the BJP or the government engaged Israeli agencies to snoop into the phones of journalists, lawyers, activists and politicians, it is a "scandal" with grave ramifications for national security.

Her remarks come after WhatsApp said that Indian scribes and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using the Israeli spyware Pegasus.

"If the BJP or the government has engaged Israeli agencies to snoop into the phones of journalists, lawyers, activists and politicians, it is a gross violation of human rights and a scandal with grave ramifications on national security," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet.

Gandhi said she was waiting for the government's response.

The Congress on Thursday attacked the Modi government over the issue, alleging that it had been "caught snooping". The opposition party demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the "illegal hacking" of cellphones.

Amid the controversy, the Narendra Modi government asked the Facebook-owned messaging service to explain the breach and list out measures that have been taken to safeguard privacy of millions of Indians. IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government is committed to protecting the privacy of Indian citizens.