Govt not seeking information on snooping as it was aware: Chidambaram
Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Jul, 2021 12:23 PM
New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) Amid the Pegasus snooping row on politicians, journalists and others, former Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday alleged that the government was aware of the snooping
In a statement Chidambaram said, "President Macron of France called PM Bennet of Israel and demanded to know full information about the alleged use of Pegasus spyware to hack phones in France, including the President's, PM Bennet promised to come back with the 'conclusions' of their own investigations."
He alleged that the only government that is unconcerned is the Government of India!, "Is it because the government was fully aware of the snooping and does not need any more information from Israel or the NSO Group?" he said.
On Friday, former Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi on described Pegasus as a weapon and demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
He also demanded a Supreme Court probe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing the media outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said, "Pegasus is classified by the Israeli State as a weapon and that weapon is supposed to be used against the terrorist. The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and Union Home Minister have used this weapon against the Indian State and against our institutions."
He alleged that the government used it politically. "They have used it in Karnataka, they have used it to scuttle probes, they have used it against the Supreme Court and against all the institutions of this country," he alleged.
India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi says people from China, including the Chinese nationals, have been able to travel to India despite the absence of direct air connectivity.
Personnel of Kolkata Police's Special Task Force ( STF) on Wednesday gunned down two Punjab gangsters believed to be involved in gun running and responsible for killing two policemen. The deceased duo has been identified as Jaspreet Jassi and Jaipal Bhullar.
In the early hours, Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad were clobbered with heavy rain, inundating several low-lying areas, barely a fortnight after the city survived the Cyclone Tauktae devastation.
Anto Alphonse, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), North Delhi, said that the police have arrested Kadir Ansari, 27, and Mohammad Arif, 37, both members of an inter-state drug smuggling racket active in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh with 32.5 Kg of cannabis.
The World Bank has lowered the growth projection for India for the financial year 2021-22 to 8.3 per cent. Its previous growth estimate for the fiscal was 10.1 per cent.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to register cases under the Disaster Management Act against Opposition leaders and activists who have been staging protests in the state over the past few days.
