On Thursday, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi launched one of his usual attacks on the Modi government and said that it was undermining the democracy of India. While delivering a presentation at Cambridge University, Rahul Gandhi said that the Israeli spyware Pegasus was being used to monitor his phone.
Rahul Gandhi stated that the intelligence officers had forewarned him that his phone conversations were being taped. They also advised him to exercise caution while using his phone for communication, he said.
So there is constant pressure that we feel. Cases are registered against Opposition. I’ve got a number of criminal liable cases registered against me for the things which shouldn’t be under criminal cases: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
— ANI (@ANI) March 3, 2023
“I myself had Pegasus on my phone. A large number of politicians had Pegasus on their phones. I have been called by intelligence officers who told me, ‘Please be careful about what you are saying on the phone because we are sort of recording the stuff’. So this is the constant pressure that we feel. Cases are registered on the Opposition. I have got a number of criminal liable cases for things that should under no circumstances be criminal liable cases. That’s what we are trying to defend,” the Congress leader said in his address,
Intel officers diligently called Pappu to tell him they are recording his stuff pic.twitter.com/cr6I9CXFbc
— iMac_too (@iMac_too) March 3, 2023
Gandhi’s entire speech delivered at the University was shared on Twitter by Congress leader and former advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sam Pitroda. Rahul Gandhi also claimed that there were indeed restrictions on the courts, press, and Parliament in India.
Here is the full Video of Rahul Gandhi’s Lecture at @CambridgeMBA @CambridgeJBS
— Sam Pitroda (@sampitroda) March 3, 2023
“The art of listening” when done consistently and diligently is “very powerful,” – @RahulGandhi https://t.co/4ETVo0X45f#BharatJodoYatra#RahulGandhiinCambridge pic.twitter.com/tDI4ONieG0
“Everybody knows and it’s been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space. The institutional framework which is required for a democracy — Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, moving around — all are getting constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy,” the Congress MP was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, BJP slammed Gandhi for his comments at the University. Recalling the Supreme Court verdict on Pegasus, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said even after the SC verdict, the “entitled dynast’ peddles lies on it. “The entitled dynast is a serial offender — his hatred for one person transcends into hatred for the country time and again…Ironically, his daadi imposed an Emergency and he preaches about democracy! What more can one say!” Shehzad said.
The entitled dynast is a serial offender – his hatred for one person transcends into hatred for the country time and again.
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) March 3, 2023
SC gives a verdict yet he peddles lies on it
Ironically his daadi imposed Emergency & he preaches about democracy ! What more can one say!!
It is important to note here that in July 2021, a global collaborative investigative report declared that Pegasus, a powerful spyware developed by the Israeli cyber security company NSO Group, might have been used to target the mobile phones of individuals in several countries, including India.
The report leaked around 300 numbers of Indian individuals being allegedly tapped by the software. The numbers included at least two ministers in the central government, three leaders from the opposition, a constitutional authority, and several journalists, civil society leaders, and business persons.
The opposition roared and accused the government as the Israeli company stated that a powerful tool such as Pegasus is sold only to governments or government agencies, and not to individuals.’ However, the Indian government on several occasions denied the allegations made by the opposition parties. The matter then reached the Supreme Court which appointed a committee to conclude that there was no evidence that the spyware application Pegasus was used to eavesdrop on the phones under examination.
Rahul Gandhi who claimed at the University today that the software was on his phone, forgot to mention that his phone was actually never tapped and that he was on the list of ‘potential targets’ of the Pegasus “expose”, which has now been thoroughly debunked. Also, though he claimed back in the year 2021 that ‘all his phones and electronic gadgets’ were tapped by the software, he had refused to give his phone for the examination to the committee appointed by the SC, ‘fearing’ data tampering.
