In the wake of reports alleging snooping activities carried out against noted Indian citizens, including political opponents of the ruling BJP, using an Israeli spyware ‘Pegasus’, the CPI-M politburo demanded that the Central government come clear on the matter and present facts relating to the contract it signed with the spyware company.
The politburo, in its issued statement, today reminded that it was only two years back when CPIM had raised the issue in Parliament citing reports of Whatsapp which claimed that Pegasus spyware is being used in India. The Modi government, however, could not give clear answers then as to whether it has signed a business contract with the Israeli surveillance company, NSO Group but had only claimed that no “illegal surveillance” is being carried out by the central government.
The published reports on Pegasus have revealed about 300 names of Indian citizens who were allegedly on the target list of the spyware that attacked the phones of politicians, human rights activists, journalists, among other noted Indian citizens.
The CPIM said such a revelation has confirmed that the central government has signed a contract with the NSO Group to carry out surveillance against Indian citizens. The Modi government needs to clarify what are the terms and conditions of this business contract with the Israeli company and how much public money is being spent on this.
The party sought to point out that as per Indian laws, it is illegal to hack into someone’s phone and introduce spyware to extract personal information. The government is no exception to the law and is bound by it.
”Which law is the central government then using to snoop on its citizens? The act is in clear violation of privacy laws”, the statement said. The politburo termed such snooping actions as “fascist tendencies” and alleged that the BJP government is putting constant efforts in snatching away our fundamental rights through conspiracies, arrests and snooping on citizens to collect their personal data through such spyware.