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‘Modi govt hacked Imran Khan’s phone too’: Pakistan joins Congress and sections of Indian media in Pegasus rant

OpIndia Staff
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‘Modi govt hacked Imran Khan’s phone too’: Pakistan joins Congress and sections of Indian media in Pegasus rant

After the workers of India National Congress went shirtless to protest the alleged snooping by the Indian government, Pakistan’s Information Minis­ter Fawad Chaudhry has now claimed that their Prime Minister Imran Khan was also on the list of people who are allegedly being snooped on by the Indian government.

Pakistan on Monday claimed that at least one number once used by their Prime Minister Imran Khan was on India’s list as per the report released. As per a news report, Chaudhary informed that Pakistan will raise the issue of hacking by India with relevant forums.

It is imperative to note that just like the publications that published the alleged phone tapping by the BJP provided no proof, no basis, no factual evidence, Pakistan too has no evidence to prove the same. 

“We are waiting for details of the hacking,” said Chaudhary in an interview. 

Chaudhary took to Twitter to raise his concerns over the alleged controversy. “Extremely concerned on news reports emerging from @guardiannews that Indian government used Israeli software to spy on journalists, political opponents and politicians. Unethical policies of #ModiGovt have dangerously polarised India and the region… More details are emerging,” he said in a Tweet on Monday.

The minister also retweeted a Tweet made by former Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha on the Pegasus controversy.

Screenshot of Fawad Chaudhary’s Tweet

The Post in its report had mentioned that hundreds of numbers from Pakistan were being snooped on and one of the numbers happens to be of Imran Khan. However, the number is no longer in use by Khan and nor did The Post specify whether the surveillance attempt on Khan’s number was successful.

Fawad Choudhary, however, perhaps failed to realise that the allegation that their PM’s phone is being snooped on by a foreign country using a third party software is rather a matter of shame for Pakistan and its intelligence agencies.

Like Pakistan, Congress alleges snoopgate by Modi government

On Sunday evening, left-wing portal The Wire reported that the names of 40 Indian journalists are there in an alleged leaked list containing people who were under surveillance using Israeli spyware Pegasus.

A day after the report was out, hundreds of Congress workers led by ‘youth leader’ Srinivas B V staged a protest on Monday over the alleged phone tapping issue. Flouting the Covid-19 norms the male workers went shirtless for reasons best known to them.

Like Chaudhary, Congress worker Srinivas BV alleged that Rahul Gandhi also was a ‘potential target’ to snooping in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Not just him, Rahul Gandhi’s aides were also in the list alleged Srinivas.

Government denies claims

The Indian government issued a statement responding to a questionnaire about the alleged leak. The statement says that “the story being crafted is one that is not only bereft of facts but also founded in pre-conceived conclusions. It seems you are trying to play the role of an investigator, prosecutor as well as jury.”

The statement said that both in RTI replies and in the Parliament, the govt has clarified that there has been no unauthorised interception by Government agencies. “The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever,” the statement said.

It is notable here that India’s Congress and Pakistan’s government parroting each other’s complaints and allegations against the Modi government is nothing new. Imran Khan’s party, ministers, and sometimes even Khan himself repeat the exact lines and statements made by Congress. And sometimes Congress does the same.

‘I am Sad’: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju expresses displeasure after opposition interrupts introduction of new ministers by PM Modi in Parliament

OpIndia Staff
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‘I am Sad’: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju expresses displeasure after opposition interrupts introduction of new ministers by PM Modi in Parliament

On July 19, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju expressed his displeasure as the opposition parties did not allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce him as the first Law Minister from a tribal community in the Parliament.

It is a customary practice that the Prime Minister introduce the newly inducted Union Ministers in the Parliament during the session. The ceremony was supposed to take place on the first day of the Monsoon Session. However, as the Monsoon Session began on Monday, the opposition parties started creating chaos in the parliament over myriad issues, including fuel price hikes and farm laws. They prevented PM Modi from introducing new Union Ministers.

Rijiju wrote on Twitter, “But I’m sad. As the first Tribal to be Minister of Law and Justice of the country, I didn’t get the opportunity to be introduced in the Parliament by Hon’ble PM as Congress and allies disrupted the introduction of Council of Ministers in which SC, ST, OBC & Women got a big place.”

Kiren Rijiju is an MP from Arunachal Pradesh and the first minister from a tribal community to be sworn in as the minister of Law and Justice.

Criticism of the opposition

Prime Minister Modi also criticised the opposition parties for the disruption they had caused. He accused them of not being able to digest the fact that the new ministers include many Dalits, tribals, women, and OBCs. He further added that he had expected the house members to show enthusiasm to welcome the ministers as they come from backward and rural backgrounds, with many of them being from the families of farmers.

The PM said, “However, probably, some people did not like that people of such background have become ministers, and that is why they are now conducting themselves in such a manner.”

In a press release, Home Minister Amit Shah criticised the opposition for disrupting the session. He said, “Today, the Monsoon Session of Parliament has started. In what seemed like a perfect cue, late last evening, we saw a report which has been amplified by a few sections with only one aim – to do whatever is possible and humiliate India at the world stage, peddle the same old narratives about our nation and derail India’s development trajectory.”

While accusing the opposition of showing India in poor light, he said, “Just a few days ago, the Council of Ministers was expanded with great emphasis given to women, SC, ST and OBC members. But there are forces unable to digest this.”

Union Minister Smriti Irani wrote, “Today, the way the opposition has created a stalemate in the journey of the development of the country by blocking the proceedings of the Parliament, it is going to hurt the dignity of the House.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “For the first time in my 24 years of parliamentary life, I have seen that this tradition has been broken. Whatever the Congress party has done today is sad and unfortunate. It is an unhealthy approach towards democratic traditions.”

The opposition parties also disrupted the proceedings in Rajya Sabha.

Shilpa Shetty’s husband businessman Raj Kundra ‘key conspirator’ in case relating to creating and publishing porn, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Shilpa Shetty’s husband businessman Raj Kundra ‘key conspirator’ in case relating to creating and publishing porn, arrested

Shilpa Shetty’s businessman husband Raj Kundra was earlier arrested by Mumbai Police in a case related to creation and publishing of pornographic material over mobile apps.

As per reports, he was arrested by Crime Branch. Mumbai Police Commissioner said that the police has sufficient evidence of his involvement.

According to police, a case was registered with the Crime Branch in February 2021 about creation of pornographic films and publishing the same through apps. A case against Kundra was registered on July 19, 2021 as he appears to be a key conspirator.

As per reports, the racket came to light earlier in February this year when a woman approached Mumbai Police and accused Kundra of luring young men and women on the pretext of offering roles in web series and allegedly forcing them to making porn films instead. Subsequently, property cell raided a bungalow in Madh area in Malad (West) and arrested five persons. Kundra was arrested on Monday.

The others arrested include Rowa Khan alias Yasmeen who is believed to be director-producer, photographer Monu Sharma and creative director Pratibha Nalawade along with and two actors, Arish Shaikh and Bhanu Thakur.

Raj Kundra has been booked under sections 420 (cheating), 34 (common intention), 292 and 293 (related to obscene and indecent advertisements and displays) of IPC besides relevant sections of the IT act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

Kundra married Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in 2009 and have two children with her. Prior to that, he was married to one Kavita Kundra with whom he has one daughter.

NSO Group, which owns spyware Pegasus, paid firms founded by Biden adviser and former CIA official, says journalist

OpIndia Staff
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NSO Group, which owns spyware Pegasus, paid firms founded by Biden adviser and former CIA official, says journalist

Kenneth P. Vogel, journalist with the New York Times, has made some startling revelations regarding the NSO Group, owner of spyware Pegasus, which is at the thick of the alleged ‘snoopgate’. He said that until late 2019, NSO Group paid SKDK, a firm associated with Joe Biden adviser, for “advice”.

According to SKDK’s website, Anita Dunn is a founding-member of SKDK.

According to Vogel, NSO Group also paid Beacon Global Strategies, a firm founded by Jeremy Bash, an MSNBC analyst formerly with the CIA and former Pentagon Chief of Staff. The two firms apparently “provided communications & business strategy advice”.

It is pertinent to note that the payment to SKDK occurred before Joe Biden became the President of the United States. Also, NSO Group has threatened to sue The Wire for defamation.

As we had reported earlier, the information regarding the ‘snoopgate’ was provided to media organisations by Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International, who have extensive links with the western establishment.

Forbidden Stories receives funds from organisations such as George Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF) and The Omidyar Group’s Luminate. Its donors have funded organisations in the past that produce regime change propaganda in order to justify the USA’s illegal wars in the Middle East.

The reports themselves do not have any evidence to suggest that the Indian Government was behind the spying of journalists and politicians and are based on conjectures.

Over 150 ex-civil servants slam ‘handful of highly prejudiced and habitually complaining elements in the fraternity’ for targeting Yogi Govt

OpIndia Staff
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Over 150 ex-civil servants slam ‘handful of highly prejudiced and habitually complaining elements in the fraternity’ for targeting Yogi Govt

In a major development, a group of over 150 eminent citizens, mostly retired government servants including ones from Judiciary, Civil and Police services, Armed Forces, Academia, Professionals and other intellectuals have issued an open letter accusing a group of fellow retired civil servants of selectively targeting the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh.

Backing a few of the major decisions taken by the state government over the last few months like the ones on zero-tolerance policy against crime and criminals, love jihad, cow vigilantism, the handling of Covid19 pandemic in Uttar Pradesh, etc., the Forum of Concerned Citizens, in its open letter slammed a particular section of retired civic servants, overtly posing as ‘non-political’, “for selectively choosing their political targets while following a covert political agenda, indulging in propaganda on the basis of inadequate or concocted facts, and a highly prejudiced mindset”.

Ex-civil servants had accused the Yogi government of eliminating members of the minority communities through police encounters

The trigger appeared to be the recent statement by the group of former civil servants of the All India and Central Services who accused the Yogi Adityanath government of eliminating members of the minority communities through police encounters. Alleging a “complete breakdown of governance” and “blatant violation of rule of law” in Uttar Pradesh, this set of 74 signatories had written to the CM to convey their “deep anguish at what we see happening in UP”.

Hitting out at these “handful of politically motivated, highly prejudiced and habitually complaining elements in the fraternity”, the 150 retired civil servants, including eminent names like Sanjeev Tripathi, former RAW chief, Nageswar Rao, the former director of CBI, Virendra Singh, the former commissioner of Income Tax, amongst others, called the allegations against the UP govt “serious, irresponsible and wholly misconceived”.

The Forum of Concerned Citizens presented its own statistics on such encounters to refute the claims made by the other set of retired civil servants.

The group said that a total of 8,367 police encounters took place in Uttar Pradesh between March 2017 (when Yogi Adityanath became the chief minister) and July 2021. In those encounters, a total of 18,025 criminals suffered injuries, out of which 3,246 were arrested and 140 lost their lives.

They further said that 115 out of 140 ‘petty criminals’ were carrying rewards and only 51 of them were from minority communities. The forum said that between March 1 and April 15, 2012, as many as 699 cases of murder, 263 rape cases and 249 incidents of loot have taken place in the state, asking those who have put forward the allegations if they are advocating status quo of such an anarchical situation.

Excerpt from the open letter written by the Forum of Concerned Citizens
Excerpt from the open letter written by the Forum of Concerned Citizens

Cow slaughter and vigilantism

Hitting out at this set of uninformed former public servants, the Forum of Concerned Citizens said that enough checks and balances are in place, from magisterial enquiry to NHRC, and the PUCL guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court. They also said that linking the National Security Act (NSA) exclusively to cow slaughter by giving wrong statistics of the year 2020 is highly prejudiced.

Crackdown on CAA and NRC agitators

Regarding the allegation of crushing dissent by suppressing ‘democratic protests’ during the CAA, NRC agitation by registering cases against ‘peaceful’ protestors, arrests and recoveries from people under the Recovery of Damages To Public and Private Property Ordinance 2020, the group of these 150 ex-civil servants said that it has been reiterated time and against that protester cannot be called ‘peaceful’ and ‘innocent’ if found indulging in ransacking and destruction of public property. Violators of laws do have to face the consequences, opined the members of the Forum of Concerned Citizens.

Yogi Government’s fight against Covid-19 undermined

They then urged the “highly prejudiced” group of former civil servants to refrain from damning the serving ones, who are fighting tooth and nail 24×7 to fight Covid-19, besides selectively denigrating the democratically elected state governments.

Reminding these “mindless” ex-civil servants of how the Yogi Government single-handedly sent “40 lakh migrant workers to their place of original residence in an unprecedented wave of reverse migration” and how it was able to bring the 2nd wave of COVID under control with the active Covid-19 caseload dipping to 1,554 on July 13, 2021, with only 96 fresh cases and 112 patients recovering in 24 hours. Test Positivity Rate has fallen to 0.9 % and Recovery Rate has increased up to 98.6%, said the Forum of Concerned Citizens.

Excerpt from the open letter written by the Forum of Concerned Citizens

It added: “Scoring Brownie Points flashing some random pictures of dead bodies floating in River Ganga is aimed at damning the hardworking and fearless Corona warriors on the field, who need to be motivated and encouraged to work harder. Instead of such building a disproportionately negative narrative, these whining former civil servants should have rather opted to work as very experienced volunteers in the crisis areas for supplementing manpower resources”.

It urged the “handful of politically motivated, highly prejudiced and habitually complaining elements in our fraternity” to refrain from damning the serving civil servants. It also warned them against selectively denigrating the democratically elected State Governments.

It said that in order to retain respect in civil society they should be viewed as people of intellectual integrity, grace and dignity rather than being identified as people pursuing a covert agenda through false narratives.

224 former IAS officers support anti-conversion law in UP

Pertinently, in the month of January this year too, about 224 former IAS officers have written to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, extending their support to the recently enacted anti-conversion law in the State. The letter comes days after 104 ‘motivated’ ex-IAS officers demanded the withdrawal of the law, meant to contain the epidemic of grooming jihad.

‘Aap chronology samjhiye’: Home Minister Amit Shah slams opposition over Pegasus ‘snoopgate’

OpIndia Staff
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‘Aap chronology samjhiye’: Home Minister Amit Shah slams opposition over Pegasus ‘snoopgate’

Home Minister Amit Shah has slammed the opposition over the Pegasus Snoopgate in a blog posted on his website. In the blog post, the Union Home Minister used his now famous phrase ‘Aap Chronology Samjhiye’ to convey his message to the public.

Amit Shah said, “The facts and sequence of events are for the entire nation to see. Today the Monsoon Session of Parliament has started. In what seemed like a perfect cue, late last evening we saw a report which has been amplified by a few sections with only one aim – to do whatever is possible and humiliate India at the world stage, peddle the same old narratives about our nation and derail India’s development trajectory.”

“The people of India have high hopes from the current Monsoon Session. Key bills for the welfare of farmers, youngsters, women and the backward sections of society are lined up for debate and discussion. No less than the Prime Minister said that the Government is ready to discuss all topics,” he added.

The Home Minister also said that it is not surprising that the Congress party has jumped into the matter. He said that they have a well known history of “trampling over democracy” and now that their house is not in order, they have latched into the issue to derail the agenda of the Parliament.

Notably, Amit Shah said, “People have often associated this phrase with me in lighter vein but today I want to seriously say – the timing of the selective leaks, the disruptions…Aap Chronology Samajhiye! This is a report by the disrupters for the obstructers. Disrupters are global organisations which do not like India to progress. Obstructers are political players in India who do not want India to progress. People of India are very good at understanding this chronology and connection.”

Foreign media in collaboration with leftist propagandist website The Wire has made a series of allegations against the Indian Government without any shred of evidence. The Wire received the information from Forbidden Stories and Amnesty, both with extensive links to the US establishment and foreign regime change propaganda.

Kerala: Rs 100 crore scam unearthed at cooperative bank controlled by CPM members, BJP files complaint

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: Rs 100 crore scam unearthed at cooperative bank controlled by CPM members, BJP files complaint

A Rs 100 crore scam has been reported in a cooperative bank controlled by members of the ruling communist party in Kerala. As per an Asia Net report, a case of financial mishandling between 2014-2020 has come to the fore at Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank.

The governing committee of the bank with 12 CPM members has been disbanded after the details of the scam were released in the public domain. The Iringalakuda police has registered a case against six employees including the bank secretary. 

As per reports, the account holders who took loans from the bank received an eviction notice even after repaying the loan amount. When a complaint was filed in this regard it was revealed that one more loan was taken on their mortgaged property and the money they were paying as repayment was going to a shadow account. Around 46 people complained about the same. 

Additionally, 23 crore rupees were found in an account operated by one Kiran. In another case, a woman named Sayilakshmi had no idea that her house was mortgaged against a loan of Rs 3 crore. 

The Bhartiya Janata Party’s state unit has lodged a complaint with Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department. They have also alleged the involvement of top CPM leaders in the scam.

In 2019 too there were complaints filed against the same bank alleging fraud.

CPM’s involvement in scams and harassment 

In June this year, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and party’s social media cell member Arjun Ayanki was arrested by the Customs Department in Kerala’s Kochi for his involvement in a gold smuggling case. 

As the CPM leaders find themselves entangled in cases of fraud, smuggling, murder and sexual violence, more and more businesses and industries are quietly exiting the state. Kitex Group- the world’s second-largest kids’ apparel manufacturer recently exited the state of Kerala citing harassment. Just before the announcement of withdrawal was made, Sabu said 11 teams of officers from various departments raided the company in the last month, including teams from the Department of labour, factories and boilers, and even a team led by the district collector.

France: Massive protests break out over mandatory vaccination, demonstrators vandalise vaccination centres

OpIndia Staff
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France: Massive protests break out over mandatory vaccination, demonstrators vandalise vaccination centres

Amidst the rising cases of Wuhan Coronavirus in France and the possibility of an upcoming fourth wave, President Emmanuel Macron had introduced stricter protocols in the country. The new rules varied from mandatory vaccination of health workers and requirement of health passes for accessing public places. While accusing the French government of violating the freedom of people, a large group of demonstrators unleashed violence on the streets of France.

On Friday (July 16), a vaccination centre in Lans-en-Vercors near Grenoble was destroyed and flooded with fire hoses. Another site in Urrugne village near Biarritz was partially vandalised on Saturday in an arson attack. More than 100,000 people protested across the country against the new Covid-19 rules.

During one such demonstration in Paris, French politician and vaccine skeptic Martine Wonner incited protestors to lay siege on lawmakers who supported the new Coronavirus protocols. Due to her inciteful speech, she was forced to resign from her opposition group in Parliament.

The demonstrators, demanding a roll-back of the new Covid-protocols, were seen flouting social distancing guidelines.

The frenzied mob tried to break through police barricades and got tear gas shells fired in return.

Earlier on Wednesday, a scuffle broke out between demonstrators, chanting ‘liberty’ against the mandatory requirement for health passes, and the police.

Nevertheless, around 137 marches were conducted in the country and about 18000 protestors took part in marches across Paris alone. Among the demonstrators were yellow-vest protestors who had been seeking to revive the widespread anti-government movement in the country. The police had to resort to firing tear gas shells to disperse the large mobs. While speaking about the violence, a protestor named Chrystelle said, “Everyone is sovereign in his own body. In no way does a president of the Republic have the right to decide on my individual health.”

Vaccine hesitancy and rising Coronavirus cases in France

It is important to note that there is a large-scale vaccine hesitancy in the country. A survey conducted last year found that only 40% of people intended to get a Coronavirus shot. Meanwhile, French PM Jean Castex emphasised that vaccination was the only way to fight the deadly virus. “I hear the reluctance that arises but I think that we must at all costs convince all our fellow citizens to be vaccinated, it is the best way to cope to this health crisis…The Delta variant is here, we must not hide the truth, it is more contagious than the previous ones. We must adapt and face it,” he added.

France has so far witnessed 1,11,000 Coronavirus-related deaths, which has negatively impacted its economy. With the outbreak of the delta variant, there has been a surge in hospital admissions in the country. The French government’s plans to contain the pandemic had backfired amidst the rising violence and vandalism in several parts of the country. However, thousands of people have also signed up for vaccine appointments. As of July 17, about 55.5% of people received a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine while about 44.8% of French citizens were fully vaccinated.

When Congress-led governments unabashedly snooped on politicians, including veteran leader Pranab Mukherjee, Amar Singh and others

OpIndia Staff
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When Congress-led governments unabashedly snooped on politicians, including veteran leader Pranab Mukherjee, Amar Singh and others

Leftwing portal The Wire on Sunday shared a list of 40 Indian journalists which it claimed were being snooped upon with a help of Israeli spyware called Pegasus.

The Indian government in its response trashed the report, stating that the allegations made in the report are based on conjectures and uncorroborated theories. Earlier today, the NSO Group, which owns the Pegasus spyware said it is considering filing defamation against The Wire for making outrageous allegations against them.

While the leftist online portal is long known for publishing prejudicial content against the Modi government, often without carrying out due diligence, the tenuous allegations of snooping has nevertheless brought to spotlight the time when Congress governments at the Centre used surveillance as a tool to keep a tab on politicians, including its own leaders.

RTI response reveals UPA-II surveilled more than 9,000 phones and 500 email accounts

A response to an RTI filed in 2013 revealed that the UPA government at the Centre was closely monitoring 9,000 phones and 500 email accounts, a report published in Newsroom Post says. The response was to an RTI filed by one Prosenjit Mondal.

The RTI reply says: “On an average, between 7,500 to 9,000 orders for the interception of telephones and 300 to 500 orders for the interception of emails are issued by Central Government per month whereas.”

Under the UPA government, not 10 or 20 but 9000 phones were tapped every month. This not only included eminent individuals but even their own leaders, including veteran Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee.

Congress-led government snooped on allies as well as its own leaders, including then FM Pranab Mukherjee

In January 2006, firebrand politician Amar Singh, the then general secretary of the Samajwadi Party, alleged that the Manmohan Singh government that came in power in 2004 had tapped his phone. Following the allegations made by Singh, other politicians such as Sitaram Yechury, Jayalalithaa, CB Naidu etc. also made similar allegations against the UPA government.

However, the most fascinating part about this incident is the response given by former PM Manmohan Singh. He said that the phone tapping was not done by his government but by a private agency. Later, a man named Bhupinder Singh was also arrested in the case.

Almost four later, in October 2009, the then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the CPM government in West Bengal of snooping on her. Banerjee’s allegations once again rekindled the debate surrounding the Centre’s use of surveillance against its opponents and other party leaders. The then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had then said that the government would come out clean on the allegations of snooping. However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rejected the demand for a JPC in the matter.

A year later, in December 2010, PM Singh defended his government’s move to tap phones of corporate honchos. He cited grounds of national security, preventing tax evasion and money laundering as the reasons to justify phone tapping. The following day, he reportedly asked his cabinet secretary to look into the phone tapping case and fortify the legal framework to prevent such leaks.

In June 2011, the then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee wrote a letter to the PM asking him to conduct a secret inquiry into the bugging of his office. According to the reports, Mukherjee suspected that one of his cabinet colleagues was responsible for bugging his office.

Earlier last month, a Congress MLA in Rajasthan accused chief minister Ashok Gehlot of tapping his phone. Congress MLA from Chaksu in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, Ved Prakash Solanki said ‘many officials’ told him that the phones of legislators were being tapped. There are also efforts underway to “trap” MLAs, Solanki had alleged then.

NDTV misquotes IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Pegusus row, attributes Israeli surveillance company NSO Group’s statement to him

OpIndia Staff
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NDTV misquotes IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Pegusus row, attributes Israeli surveillance company NSO Group’s statement to him

The ultra-leftist propaganda website The Wire Sunday made misleading assertions that the government of India is using spyware Pegasus to snoop on journalists, Indian ministers, Supreme Court judges, opposition leaders and other notable personalities. This got the ball rolling for the opposition parties and their friendly media houses, which within no time launched a propaganda offensive against the Modi government. NDTV, too, was quick to jump on the bandwagon.

The media house promptly put out a Tweet quoting IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw as saying in the lower house of the Parliament during its monsoon session that commenced today: “No factual basis to suggest use of Pegasus amounts to surveillance”.

NDTV’s Tweet

NDTV misquotes IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

However, in its excitement to malign Modi government, NDTV landed up misquoting the IT Minister. The fact is that the remark NDTV attributed to the IT Minister was actually that of the Israeli surveillance company NSO Group, which in its statement denied any snooping using its Pegasus software and has described the report by Forbidden Stories as “full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories”. 

NSO’s statement that NDTV attributed to the IT Minister

If one hears IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s speech in the lower house of the Parliament, it can be clearly heard that the minister had quoted an excerpt from the statement issued by NGO Group, hours after the ultra-leftist propaganda website The Wire published a report claiming that the Government is using spyware Pegasus to snoop on journalists, Indian ministers, Supreme Court judges, opposition leaders and other notable personalities.

NSO had in its statement said that they “have a good reason to believe the claims that are made by the unnamed sources to Forbidden Stories, are based on misleading interpretations of data from accessible and overt basic information, such as HLR Lookup services, which have no bearing on the list of the customers targets of Pegasus or any other NSO products. Such services are openly available to anyone, anywhere, and anytime, and are commonly used by governmental agencies for numerous purposes, as well as by private companies worldwide”.

“We firmly deny the false allegations made in their report. Their sources have supplied them with information which has no factual basis, as evident by the lack of supporting documentation for many of their claims”, read NSO group’s statement.

IT Minister slams The Wire for its misleading report on the ‘Pegasus Project’

Addressing the monsoon session of the Parliament IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had torn into the ultra-leftist propaganda website The Wire, for its shoddy reportage on the ‘Pegasus Project’. He hit out at the media outlet for publishing a highly sensational report, which was devoid of any substance.

BJP says The Wire is a habitual fake news peddler

Hitting out against The Wire’s sensationalist report that is devoid of any solid fact or evidence, former IT and Law minister RS Prasad also stated that The Wire has a habit of spreading lies and it has published many articles based on fake news and misinformation in the past. He also added that similar claims have been made in the past and they were refuted decisively. He also added that such sensationalist news reports were deliberately published a day before the monsoon session to disrupt the parliament.

NSO mulls defamation suit against the leftist media outlet over ‘outrageous allegations’

Earlier in the day, OpIndia reported how, NSO, a Tel-Aviv based firm that owns the spyware Pegasus on Sunday slammed leftist media outlet, The Wire, and threatened to file a defamation suit against it for publishing the phoney report.

For the uninitiated, The Wire published an ‘investigative’ report on July 18, 2021, making tall claims about the government’s alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus to spy on 300 verified Indian mobile telephone numbers, including those used by ministers, opposition leaders, journalists, the legal community, businessmen, government officials, scientists, rights activists and others.

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