Andhra Pradesh house panel begins inquiry over Pegasus charge against previous TDP government

The six-member panel, headed by senior YSR Congress party MLA Karunakar Reddy Bhumana, held a meeting with senior officials of home and information technology departments to gather information on methods, including Pegasus allegedly adopted by the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government, headed by N Chandrababu Naidu for surveillance on certain individuals, then opposition leaders and citizens in general.

An Andhra Pradesh legislative house committee on Wednesday began its probe into allegations that the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government, headed by N Chandrababu Naidu, had procured Pegasus spyware to snoop on its political rivals.

An Andhra Pradesh legislative house committee on Wednesday began its probe into allegations that the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government, headed by N Chandrababu Naidu, had procured Pegasus spyware to snoop on its political rivals. (Agencies)

The six-member panel, headed by senior YSR Congress party MLA Karunakar Reddy Bhumana, held a meeting with senior officials of home and information technology departments to gather information on methods allegedly adopted by the previous regime for surveillance on certain individuals, then opposition leaders and citizens in general.

The committee held a preliminary round of discussion with officials on various surveillance methods allegedly adopted by the previous government, Bhumana told reporters after the meeting. “We have asked the officials to come up with comprehensive data on the issue,” he said.

“We shall also probe methods of indulging in data theft, purchase of other surveillance equipment and tapping of phones of opposition parties by the previous TDP government, which affected an individual’s right to privacy,” Bhumana said.

The next meeting of the house committee will be held on July 5 and 6, the MLA said. “We shall also summon officials who worked in the intelligence department under the previous TDP government,” he added.

The house panel was constituted by speaker Tammineni Sitaram on March 25 this year after a discussion in the assembly over a statement by West Bengal chief minister that the former TDP government under Naidu’s leadership had procured the Pegasus spyware in 2017 from Israeli company, NSO Group, while her government had rejected a similar proposal.

Subsequently, YSRCP members in the assembly demanded the constitution of a house committee to probe Banerjee’s statement against the Naidu government.

State finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy alleged that former state intelligence chief A B Venkateshwara Rao had visited Israel twice in 2017 to procure surveillance systems from Israel.

The house panel strongly believes that the Naidu government had indeed indulged in snooping on rivals, Bhumana said. While there may be no official records, the spyware may have been procured through other methods, he said.

The committee may also visit West Bengal assembly, if necessary, to review assembly records on Banerjee’s statement on the alleged procurement of the spyware by the then TDP government, the YSRCP leader said.

TDP general secretary and official spokesman Kommareddy Pattabhi said the investigation would not yield results as the former Naidu government had not indulged in any snooping activity.

“In the last three years, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government has ordered several inquiries against TDP leaders, making wild allegations, but could not prove a single one of them. In the next two years, too, it will not be able to prove anything against Naidu or others,” he said.

Former intelligence chief Rao also dismissed the allegations.

“I was the intelligence chief of the state during the period. I can confidently say no government agency – whether it was the office of Directorate General of Police or the Criminal Investigation Department or Anti-Corruption Bureau – had neither procured nor used the Pegasus spyware. No phones were tapped. I do not know about the situation after May 2019, when the TDP lost power,” he said.

The Pegasus row erupted on July 18 last year after an international consortium of media outlets and investigative journalists reported that the phones of Indian ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen and journalists were among 50,000 that were potentially targeted by Pegasus, Israeli company NSO Group’s phone hacking software. According to this consortium, Pegasus can switch on a target’s phone camera and microphone, as well as access data on the device, effectively turning the phone into a pocket spy.

Responding to a bunch of petitions filed by lawyers, politicians, journalists and civil rights activists, the Union ministry of electronics and information technology filed a three-page affidavit on August 16 that refused to confirm or deny whether it used Pegasus spyware for surveillance of Indians. The Centre instead offered to set up an expert committee to look into the controversy and “dispel any wrong narrative spread by certain vested interests”.

Eventually, it was the Supreme Court that set up a panel for a probe into the matter.