NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the Centre, saying that it has committed treason.
The former Congress president made the comments while reacting to a New York Times report which claimed that the Indian government bought the Pegasus spyware in 2017 as part of a deal with Israel.
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Slamming the Centre, Gandhi alleged that the Modi government “bought” Pegasus to spy on the primary “institutions of our democracy, leaders and the public”.
“The Modi government bought Pegasus to spy on state leaders and the public. They have targeted the ruling party, the Opposition, the court, by tapping their phones. This is treason. The Modi government has committed treason,” Gandhi tweeted.
Other leaders of Congress also slammed the Centre over the report.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted, “Why did Modi Govt act like the enemies of India and use a warfare weapon against Indian citizens?”
“Illegal snooping using Pegasus amounts to treason. No one is above the law and we will ensure that justice is served,” he said.
“The Modi government bought Pegasus to spy on our primary democratic institutions, politicians, the public, government functionaries, opposition leaders, armed forces, judiciary, all were targeted with phone tapping. This is treason,” Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters on Saturday.
“The Modi government lied to the Supreme Court when it was directly questioned about the purchase and deployment of Pegasus. In a sworn affidavit, the government said ‘unequivocally we deny any and all of the allegations made against the government’,” Surjewala said.
The Congress has alleged the Pegasus spyware can hack into mobile phones, activate microphones and cameras and take photos.
“Data from SMS to family photos to WhatsApp chats is stolen in illegal ways and sent to Modi’s agencies. All these can be used against you,” Surjewala said.
He alleged the spyware was used against Rahul Gandhi and five of his staff, HD Deve Gowda, Siddaramaiah, HD Kumaraswamy, Vasundhara Raje, Praveen Togadia, Smiriti Irani’s officer on special duty, Supreme Court judges, Alok Verma, KK Sharma, Jitendra Kumar Ojha, lawyers, activists and journalists.