Shiv Sena hits out again at Centre over Pegasus spyware

The Sena called Union home minister Amit Shah’s statement on media reports about the use of Pegasus spyware as “surprising”. It asked Shah to spell out who is out to defame the country

The Shiv Sena on Wednesday again hit out at the Centre over the alleged targeting by Israeli spyware Pegasus of politicians, journalists, and constitutional authorities, saying the issue is more serious than the state of Emergency in the 1970s. In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said the “cyberattack on the selective Indians” could not have happened without the Centre’s approval. It questioned who will take responsibility for the snooping while demanding a probe by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC). The Sena asked the Supreme Court to take suo moto cognisance of the matter and set up an independent inquiry committee.

Representational Image. (File photo)

The party earlier demanded a JPC probe in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

The Sena called Union home minister Amit Shah’s statement on media reports about the use of Pegasus spyware as “surprising”. It asked Shah to spell out who is out to defame the country.

Shah dismissed the reports as an attempt to “malign Indian democracy and its well-established institutions”.

The Sena said: “It is your government and your democracy, so who would have had the courage to do this?” It added whosoever has money, political muscle, and the intent to act in arbitrary fashion can do such a thing.