NCP urges Centre to probe foreign govts' involvement in Pegasus snooping

Mumbai: Throwing a new dimension to the ongoing Pegasus spyware phone-tapping controversy, Maharashtra minister and NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik on Tuesday said if the Centre did not use the Pegasus spyware, it should probe whether any other foreign government snooped on Indian politicians, judges, bureaucrats and journalists.

Terming it as "a very serious matter", Malik said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Centre must issue a proper clarification in Parliament.

"The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that it has nothing to do with the Pegasus matter. The Centre must make a proper statement in Parliament through some senior minister to the effect that the government has no links with the NSO Group Technologies," Malik urged.

He said that if the Centre's claim was indeed true, then it becomes even more serious as it could point to some foreign powers snooping on the country and its top institutions and individuals.

"The phones of several opposition leaders, Supreme Court judges, Election Commission of India, lawyers, journalists, industrialists have been tapped, but the MoD claims it has no links with Pegasus. Then who is responsible for this," Malik asked.

In view of this, the NCP leader said it was imperative for the Centre to immediately order a probe into the matter to reveal the truth, as Congress demanded a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.

Malik's comments came a day after the Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt informed the Rajya Sabha that the MoD has not had any transactions with the NSO Group Technologies of Israel, as Parliament deadlock continues with the opposition firm on a debate in the house.