Mumbai: The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) on Wednesday asked the BJP-led Maha Yuti government to clarify whether they have mounted surveillance on top leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
The statement follows the alleged hacking of phone and WhatsApp of Baramati MP Supriya Sule, who is the NCP (SP) Working President.
Over the past five years, MVA leaders had been flagging the issue of surveillance mounted on them.
"It is imperative that the Maharashtra Home Ministry clarify whether any surveillance is being conducted on Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray, NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule, NCP (SP) Maharashtra President Jayant Patil, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole or any other opposition leaders. Such actions, if true, would be a grave violation of democratic principles," NCP (SP) chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said.
Tapase alleged that Sule, who has recently emerged victorious in a hard-fought electoral battle, might be under the watch of government agencies.
Tapase accused the BJP of resorting to desperate measures to undermine Supriya Sule after failing to defeat her electorally.
"The BJP, which was determined to defeat Supriya Sule, finds itself in an uncomfortable position after her electoral success. In an attempt to weaken our party, they engineered a split in the NCP by luring Ajit Pawar to their side," Tapase said.
The NCP spokesperson further expressed concerns over the possibility of the Pegasus spyware being used to monitor the movements of opposition leaders ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
"The BJP is known for keeping tabs on its political opponents and allegations of such nature have been made in the past. We fear that the Pegasus spyware may be used to track the movements of opposition leaders, including Supriya Sule, in the lead-up to the Maharashtra Assembly elections," Tapase stated.
Supriya Sule recently said that her husband got an IT notice after she had questioned the government during the Parliamentary budget session.