Pegasus: Adhir submits privilege notice against Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Congress leaders alleged that the government lied to the Supreme Court when it was 'directly questioned' about the purchase of Pegasus

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday submitted a privilege notice against Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for "deliberately misleading" the Parliament, citing a New York Times report that claimed that India purchased the controversial Israeli spyware.

In his notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, he said the Pegasus issue had rocked the Monsoon Session last year with the Opposition demanding a discussion on reports that the government was targeting politicians, journalists and activists among others.

He claimed that the Narendra Modi government always maintained on the floor of the House that it had nothing to do with Pegasus. He also alleged that the government lied to the Supreme Court when it was "directly questioned" about the purchase and deployment of Pegasus.

In its affidavit, Chowdhury said that the government told the apex court that deny the allegations against the government on the Pegasus issue.

Also read: Pegasus: Fresh plea in SC calls for FIR against PM Modi

"In light of the latest revelations by the New York Times, it appears that the Modi government has misled the Parliament and the Supreme Court and lied to the people of India," he said in his letter while urging him to accept his privilege notice against Vaishnaw, who made the statement on behalf of the government in Parliament.

Tweeting a copy of the letter, Congress Whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore asked, "Will Speaker Om Birla accept the opposition demand?"

The NYT report claimed that India purchased the controversial spyware, which was reportedly used to spy on Opposition leaders, activists, journalists and those in Constitutional posts among others, and linked the country's change in stance on Palestine and votes in the United Nations that favoured Israel to the purchase from the NSO Group.

So far, the government has not reacted to the NYT story while it has not made clear whether the spyware was purchased or not. In July last year, reports had emerged that a large number of Opposition politicians, lawyers, activists, businessmen, those holding Constitutional posts and journalists among others were spied using the Pegasus spyware by hacking into their phones, an allegation the government denied.

Vaishnaw had told the Parliament that the reports of use of Pegasus in the country was "baseless" and “highly sensational". The Ministry of Defence said in Parliament last August that it has not had any transaction with NSO Group, which sells Pegasus.

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