When Pegasus returns to haunt PM Modi; Rahul terms spyware deal ‘treason’
The New York Times report has detailed the Modi government’s purchase of Israeli spyware Pegasus in 2017.
The Pegasus imbroglio is back to haunt the Narendra Modi government. And, what an embarrassment it is actually turning out to be. The huddle Modi went into with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now offers much room for concern.
The New York Times report that detailed the Indian government’s purchase of Israeli spyware Pegasus in 2017, says that it was part of a $2-billion package for weapons including a missile system.
Many including the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, had bought and tested the spyware in a bid to use it for domestic surveillance. The NYT has revealed that the spyware was deployed by Mexico to target journalists and dissidents, while Saudi Arabia used it against women’s rights activists and associates of late columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Apart from India, Pegasus landed up in the hands of Poland, Hungary and other many countries.
India’s new-found love for Israel
The U-turn taken by India in the Palestine-Israel affairs, by moving away from its commitment to the Palestinian cause and supporting Israel is also now being read in terms of the new-found camaraderie between India and Israel and the Pegasus deal. India’s purchase of sophisticated weapons worth roughly $2 billion, had Pegasus and a missile system at the fore of it all.
Pegasus is now the topic of heated debates in New Delhi and elsewhere in the country. It is the Assembly season in various states, and the ruling BJP alliance would not want the controversy to boil over. Pegasus, made by Israel’s NSO had been allegedly used against the public, military and civil officers, politicians, activists, judges and journalists for illegal surveillance, it had been reported.
Congress calls Pegasus deal treason
With the latest Pegasus related revelations filling up media space, the Opposition Congress party has launched itself in attack mode. Party leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to state that the Modi government has committed treason. He wrote: “Modi government bought Pegasus to spy on our primary democratic institutions, politicians and public. Government functionaries, opposition leaders, armed forces, judiciary all were targeted by phone tapping. This is treason. Modi government has committed treason.”
Though the Union Ministry of Defence told the Parliament that it has not made any transaction with NSO, the new reveal adds to the suspicion. It may be recalled that the Supreme Court has put together a technical committee to seek information from people who believe that their phones were targeted by the spyware.
The Congress has lashed out on the basis of the NYT report saying that the Modi government bought Pegasus to spy on India’s primary democratic institutions, politicians, the public, government functionaries, opposition leaders, armed forces, judiciary. And that, it said, amounts to treason.
Even as the debate raged, Home Minister Amit Shah has to dismiss concerns on the spyware by saying that the latest report is one by disruptors for obstructers! Whatever he meant, the Home Minister or the government he is part of can’t wash their hands of the episode.
Election season or not, Pegasus is sure to be a major headache for Prime Minister Modi and his cabinet colleagues. The government is obliged to clear the air rather than resorting to just high sounding words that mean nothing. Will Modi and co come out in the open and respond with clarity, is a question that may not actually generate any answer.
