Pegasus row: Prahlad Patel denies being snooped on, tells Opposition 'let Parliament run'

Refuting claims about being spied upon, MoS Jal Shakti Prahlad on Wednesday said that he doesn't believe that his government will indulge in such activities. On being asked about his name appearing as an alleged target of snooping along with IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, he said that the government and BJP have clarified their stance and his separate comment was not necessary. Ruckus erupted in Parliament on Monday as Centre categorically denied snooping on 300 citizens using Israeli spyware- Pegasus.

Patel: "Never felt govt spied upon me"

"I never felt that Govt was snooping on me. I'm not such a big man. I don't believe my Govt would indulge in such activities. I feel Opposition should hold discussions & let Parliament function. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav & the party (BJP) have clarified their stance. So I don't need to comment on this issue separately," said Patel.

Govt & NSO rubbish using Pegasus to spy on citizens

On Sunday night, Centre issued a rebuttal rubbishing the report that the Indian government allegedly spied on over 300 citizens, including 40 journalists via Israeli spyware Pegasus. Asserting that India was committed to free speech, Centre claimed that the questionnaire sent to it was 'founded on pre-conceived notions' and that Centre's RTI response to the use of Pegasus was itself sufficient.  Calling the report a fishing expedition, the Centre reminded that similar allegations were made regarding the use of Pegasus on Whatsapp which were categorically denied by all parties including Whatsapp in the Supreme Court. Similarly, 'Pegasus' owner NSO Group highlighted - 'the purpose of the list could not be conclusively determined' and the list does not 'identify who puts the numbers on it or why', refuting all allegations.

What is the Pegasus row?

A report by sixteen media houses claimed that 300 verified Indian mobile telephone numbers were allegedly spied upon using Israeli surveillance technology firm Pegasus - which only has 36 vetted governments as its clients. As per a 'leaked' database, numbers of those allegedly spied upon include over 40 journalists, three major opposition figures, one constitutional authority, two serving cabinet ministers, current and former heads, and officials of security organizations and businessmen. The target also includes the eight activists currently accused of the Bhima Koregaon case. The report claimed that the leaked numbers mainly belong to ten countries - India, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.