Responding to the pegasus spyware controversy, Hyderabad Parliamentarian and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said that Pegasus use is hacking and called it an "attempt to malign Indian democracy," while addressing Parliament.
Taking to Twitter, Owaisi said, "#Pegasus use is hacking, not "authorised interception" or tapping. Hacking is a crime, whether it's done by individuals or govt"
In a series of Tweets, Owaisi has said that the Modi Government must respond to allegations and come clean about the controversy.
"Govt has to expressly disclose or deny only 2 things:1.Did you use NSO spyware or not? 2.Did you target specific people named in news reports? " Owaisi asked.
"NSO, which owns #Pegasus has repeatedly clarified that it sells its services to "vetted governments" alone. This is why, GOI has to disclose if it availed these services & the people who were targeted" Owaisi added.
Meanwhile, Union IT Minister Vaishnaw had made a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha on Monday wherein he said there is "no substance" to the controversy and claimed that the report, a day before the start of the session is no coincidence.