Mamata says NSO came to Bengal to sell Pegasus spyware, but she rejected offer

The Trinamool Congress supremo said she had turned down the offer as the spyware could have been exploited politically and targeting judges and officials, something that was unacceptable.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said Israeli cyber intelligence company, NSO Group, had come to the state police department four-five years ago, to sell their spyware, Pegasus, at a cost of ₹25 crore. According to an ANI input, the Trinamool Congress supremo said she had turned down the offer as the spyware could have been exploited politically and targeting judges and officials, something that was unacceptable.

File photo of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Banerjee has repeatedly targetted the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for allegedly using the military grade Israeli spyware for targetting phones of journalists, politicians, activists, businessmen, and others. She had even demanded an all-party meeting over the same.

The Bengal government had ordered an inquiry into the Pegasus snooping row that had rocked the nation last year, just days ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament. Bengal was the first state to do so.

At the time, Banerjee had said, “The Cabinet has approved the appointment of a commission of inquiry comprising former Supreme Court judge, justice (retd) MB Lokur and retired chief justice of Calcutta high court, justice (retd) Jyotirmay Bhattacharya in exercise of the power conferred by section 3 of the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1952 in the matter of widely reported illegal hacking, monitoring, putting under surveillance, tracking, recording etc of mobile phones of various persons in the state of West Bengal.”