Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday welcomed that the Supreme Court formed a panel to look into the allegations of Pegasus spyware. He said that buying the Pegasus software was an attack on the ‘vibrancy of Indian democracy’. He also said that the product was either bought by the Prime Minister or the Union home minister.
“This is illegal. No one is above the nation and its institutions,” Rahul said in a press conference.
Rahul Gandhi also claimed that the government in Karnataka was toppled using Pegasus. “This is a deeper problem. It is one thing if you are using Pegasus for tackling terrorism or national security. That is completely a different issue but if the Prime Minister is using it as a personal tool and the data is arriving on the PM's desk, then that is totally criminal,” he said.
“We will follow up on that. We will make sure of that… Government's have been dropped, right? In Karnataka, government was dropped using Pegasus,” Rahul Gandhi further added.
He said if data regarding opposition leaders or even the ‘Election Commission’ is reaching the ‘Prime Minister’ with the help of Pegasus, then it is a criminal act.
{{/usCountry}}He said if data regarding opposition leaders or even the ‘Election Commission’ is reaching the ‘Prime Minister’ with the help of Pegasus, then it is a criminal act.
{{/usCountry}}Rahul Gandhi said that the decision to buy the spyware from the Israeli firm NSO was an attempt to ‘crush the vibrancy of the democracy’ and the ‘discussions that happen in a democracy’.
“It is a big step that the Supreme Court has taken and we hope that the truth will come out of this,” Rahul Gandhi said. He also expressed concern that if any other country accessed information of the people who were allegedly snooped upon using the spyware. “The list includes members of the judiciary, opposition leaders as well as BJP leaders. Did any other country have access to information of our people?" Rahul asked.
Cyber experts comprising Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Prabaharan P and Ashwin Anil Gumaste were appointed by the apex court on Wednesday to probe the alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus for surveillance of politicians, journalists, and activists. Former Supreme Court judge RV Raveendran will oversee the functioning of the panel, according to a report by HT.