Pegasus story is concocted, fabricated and evidence less: BJP
Darpan News Desk IANS, 22 Jul, 2021 11:04 AM
New Delhi, July 22 (IANS) Referring to alleged reports of snooping of prominent citizens using Israeli Pegasus spyware, senior BJP leader and union minister Meenakshi Lekhi on Thursday said that these kinds of stories are concocted, fabricated and have no evidence.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Lekhi said, These kinds of stories are floated to undermine Indian institutions and stop Data Protection, that is set to become the law of the land. This is to desensitize the public of the credibility of the structures and to malign the image of our country."
Lekhi claimed that this is concocted, fabricated and evidence less.
"Ten countries have been named in the spyware issue, but opposition in other countries haven't reacted the way our opposition has. This is a story that is concocted, fabricated and evidence-less," she said.
Lekhi also claimed that the NSO, manufacturer of Pegasus, has denied that this is a list of their customers.
"NSO has denied that this is not a list of their customers and has no corroborative evidence of any connection between the list in circulation. Amnesty International has denied this list and yet, the Opposition has continued to disrupt the House based on fake news," Lekhi said.
Lekhi further stated that the published story is based on a list on numbers available in any directory or yellow page.
"Second, Amnesty International has denied this. The company whose produce is Pegasus, has said that these claims are uncorroborated and do not tally with their customer base," she said.
Hitting out at the opposition parties, he said, "Whenever something right and good is supposed to happen in the country, opposition indulged in this kind."
Rejecting all opposition to his elevation, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi appointed Navjot Singh Sidhu as the party's new Punjab unit President along with four Working Presidents.
Calling the reports of alleged snooping on prominent citizens using Israeli Pegasus spyware as "baseless", the ruling BJP on Monday said there is not a single shred of evidence so far that links either the central government or the party to this controversy.
Congress MPs from both Houses had met on Sunday afternoon at Rajya Sabha member Pratap Singh Bajwa's residence to discuss the issues related to Punjab and sought an appointment with Gandhi.
Apart from reviewing the security arrangements in the national capital, the Delhi Police have also strengthened the security in and around the Red Fort ahead of the Independence Day.
Police said acting on a specific information, Budgam Police along with the Army's 53 RR and 43 BN of the CRPF arrested one local terrorist linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT and recovered incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including one Chinese pistol, one magazine, eight live pistol rounds from his possession.
As the Pegasus spyware scandal unravelled within and outside Parliament, he termed it a "shocking assault" on India's democratic polity by the Union government, which had compromised the national security with "this blatantly disgraceful act".
