Amid the row over the Pegasus report, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday urged the Centre to ban the functioning of Amnesty International in India.

“I request Govt of India to ban the functioning of Amnesty International in the country. I feel the Congress party should join hands with the government in criticising Amnesty International. They can’t defame our country like this all the time,” Sarma told reporters in Guwahati.

“They (some media outlets) said these (persons) are potential targets but can’t confirm if their privacy was compromised. What kind of journalism is this? Amnesty International & certain other international groups are hell-bent to defame India’s democracy and leadership,” Sarma said.

He claimed that different Left-wing organisations throughout the world, including Amnesty International, are part of the conspiracy.

“It is clear that they want to defame India’s democracy. I demand that activities of Amnesty International be immediately banned within India,” Sarma claimed.

He said there was evidence earlier, but with this recent incident, it is now clear that Amnesty can go to any extent to defame India’s democratic fabric.