Is it difficult for govt to answer whether it's NSO's client?: Chidambaram on Pegasus row

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday lashed out at the central government and asked it why it is so difficult for the Centre to give a straight answer as to whether it is a client of the Israeli firm NSO Group that sells the surveillance spyware. P Chidambaram further claimed that the NSO Group listed 40 governments and 60 agencies as its clients. 

The senior Congress leader said, "A simple question: was the government of India one of the forty? Why is it so difficult for the government of India to give a straight answer to that simple question?''

This latest statement by Chidambaram comes after an international media consortium reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile numbers were on a list of potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus spyware. However, the Government of India has been denying all allegations and conjectures posited by the Opposition in this matter. 

Earlier during the day, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had said that he is not bothered by the Pegasus row. Ghulam Nabi Azad had also urged the Opposition to move on considering the government's silence as a signal of the Israeli software usage. The controversy surrounding the matter has virtually washed out the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament so far, whereas the Supreme Court is set to hear a PIL regarding the matter on August 5.

What is Pegasus row?

A report by 16 media houses claimed that around 300 verified Indian phones numbers, including journalists, politicians and government officials were allegedly spied on through the Pegasus software. As per a 'leaked' database, the Israeli spyware allegedly spied upon over 40 journalists, three major opposition leaders, two serving ministers among others. 

Earlier CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas filed a writ petition moving the apex court for a court-monitored investigation executed by an SIT into the alleged Pegasus snooping issue. The petition is pursuant to the statements by Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav in the Parliament to state that the Centre neither denied nor affirmed the allegations of snooping.

The plea read, "It is only an evasive statement of the Government. The Government has unequivocally accepted the statement of the company, NSO, which owns the alleged spyware technology and blindly accepted their version without investigation." The company in question, NSO, however, has rubbished the entire report.

(Image: Pixabay, PTI)