CM Ashok Gehlot, embroiled in phone tapping row, demands SC intervention in Pegasus row

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday asked the Supreme Court of India to take suo-moto cognisance and take immediate action in the Pegasus 'snoopgate' row. The Congress leader called the alleged hacking of mobile phones and spying as "shocking and worrisome".

"The Supreme Court should take suo-moto action and order an immediate investigation in the Pegasus spying case because it is the most appropriate case for judicial inquiry by the Supreme Court. Such an inquiry will bring out the truth and set at rest all allegations and counter-allegations," Gehlot said in a statement.

"The news reports about the hacking of mobiles and spying through the use of Pegasus Software are very shocking and worrisome. Now the list of people who were snooped includes former Congress President Shri Rahul Gandhi also. It is not yet clear where the list will end," he said.

The Congress leader said that if the government is honest then it should have investigated the matter when Digvijaya Singh raised the issue in Rajya Sabha in 2019. "This issue has been in constant discussion across the country for the last two years that the people are being spied on and their phones are being put on surveillance and tapped," he said.

Asserting that the truth should be out, Gehlot said, "It has been told that according to the company which makes the Pegasus software, it is sold only to the government. This is a very serious matter whose truth should be brought before the public."

Gehlot himself accused of spying

Notably, Ashok Gehlot is himself accused of tapping phones of public representatives illegally and using them as a political weapon. Last month, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat alleged that the Congress leader is spying on his MLAs.

"Present Congress government taps phones of public representatives illegally and uses it as a political weapon. This has been alleged many times. Last year Chief Minister said that it does not happen in Rajasthan but his minister admitted in the Assembly that phones were tapped legally," Shekhawat was quoted as saying by ANI.

"I came to know that some Congress MLAs have complained to the Chief Minister that their phones are being tapped illegally. I think the Congress government and its head should clarify this," the union minister had stated.

Congress MLA from Chaksu in Rajasthan's Dausa district, Ved Prakash Solanki- a Sachin Pilot Supporter- also accused Gehlot of tapping phones. "Two-three MLAs have brought the matter to the notice of the Chief Minister. They have highlighted in front of the CM that the phones of the MLAs are being tapped, and they are being threatened," he said.