Pegasus story an attempt to malign Indian democracy: IT Minister
Darpan News Desk IANS, 22 Jul, 2021 10:15 AM
New Delhi, July 22 (IANS) With the Pegasus snoopgate leading to ruckus in the Parliament, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday that the news story on snooping was an attempt to malign India's democracy and its institutions.
Addressing the Rajya Sabha, the minister also indicated that the report was meant to disrupt the Monsoon Session of the Parliament.
"A sensational story around Pegasus being published just a day before the Monsoon Session of Parliament cannot be a coincidence," he said.
"This press story on Pegasus, done by a web portal on July 18, attempts to malign the Indian democracy and its well-established institutions," Vaishaw added.
He also said that similar claims were made in the past regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp, adding that those reports had "no factual basis" and were categorically denied by all the parties, including in the Supreme Court.
While Vaishnaw was reading the statement on the Pegasus project amid an ongoing row over alleged large-scale snooping involving politicians, Trinamool Congress MPs snatched the report from the minister's hand and tore it into pieces on the floor of the Rajya Sabha.
Journalist-turned-BJP MP Swapan Dasgupta said: "Some of the Trinamool MPs took the paper from the hands of the minister and tore it. This is unacceptable."
Trinamool MP Shantanu Sen was seen on national television snatching the report right out of the minister's hand, tearing it apart and then throwing the shredded pieces into the air.
Amid continued disruptions, the Upper House was adjourned for the day.
Earlier too, the minister had said that the report is an attempt to malign India.
The Pegasus Project reports published in The Wire, which showed that over 300 phone numbers - including those of two serving ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders, among others, - could have been targetted for hacking using the Pegasus spyware developed by Israeli surveillance company NSO Group.
Interestingly, Vaishnaw's name also appeared in the list of people who were allegedly snooped upon.
Modi and the then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were pictured during the trip, walking barefoot together on a beach. Days before, Indian targets had started being selected, The Guardian said.
The security at Jantar Mantar road in the national capital has been beefed up by Delhi police as scores of farmers are scheduled to hold a protest there against the three Union farm laws on Thursday.
In a first show of solidarity and strength, Punjab Congress unit's newly-appointed President Navjot Singh Sidhu, accompanying 62 legislators, comprising many state Cabinet ministers, on Wednesday paid obeisance at the Golden Temple here.
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked the Central government, saying that its wrong decision during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic killed 50 lakh people.
Breaking a long silence on issues ranging from local to national, former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Wednesday spoke on diverse issues like the present political crisis in Rajasthan and Punjab and also demanded a free probe on the phone tapping issue.
Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Wednesday said that it has arrested Raj Kumar Khatri, a suave cheat who duped a Canadian citizen of crores of rupees by passing himself as the owner of an upcoming five star hotel.
