BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday urged the Modi-led Centre to come clean on the Pegasus "snooping" claims levelled by a international consortium of mediahouses. "It was quite clear that Pegasus Spyware is a commercial company which works on paid contracts. So the inevitable question arises on who paid them for the Indian "operation". If it is not govt of India, then who? It is the Modi government's duty to tell the people of India," he tweeted.
It is quite clear that Pegasus Spyware is a commercial company which works on paid contracts. So the inevitable question arises on who paid them for the Indian "operation". If it is not Govt of India, then who? It is the Modi government's duty to tell the people of India
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) July 19, 2021
News reports had claimed that more than 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two serving ministers and over 40 journalists, were targeted for hacking through an Israeli spyware sold only to government agencies.
The issue of "snooping" using Pegasus spyware snowballed into a massive political row in Parliament and outside as various parties demanded a thorough investigation and sacking of Home Minister Amit Shah, while the government maintained it had nothing to do with it. The Congress accused the government of "treason" and held Shah responsible for the snooping and hacking of phones of journalists, judges and politicians, and demanded a probe into the "role of the prime minister" in the entire matter as well.
The demand for a probe came from opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC, NCP, Left parties, RJD and Shiv Sena. The BJP hit back at the Congress and claimed "there is not a shred of evidence" to link either the ruling party or the Modi dispensation with the matter. BJP leader and former IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned the credentials of those behind the story as well as its timing, coming a day before Parliament's Monsoon Session that began on Monday, as he accused the opposition party of hitting a "new low" in making baseless allegations.
-Inputs from PTI
