Asserting that a recent media report about the use of Pegasus spyware to snoop on numerous prominent Indian personalities was amplified by a few people with the sole aim of humiliating India, Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said, “disruptors and obstructers will not be able to derail India's development trajectory through their conspiracies”.
He further asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s main priority is “national welfare”.
"Rudderless Congress jumping on to the (Pegasus) bandwagon is not unexpected as they have experience in trampling on democracy," Shah added.
According to a media report published by The Wire, Israeli spyware Pegasus was used to spy on at least 40 Indian journalists from across media houses throughout the country.
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According to the report, along with the 40 journalists, "three major opposition figures, one constitutional authority, two serving ministers in the Narendra Modi government, current and former heads and officials of security organisations and scores of businesspersons" were also part of the list of potential or past victims, who were snooped upon after their electronic devices were hacked.
The report was published by The Wire in partnership with 16 other international publications including Washington Post, The Guardian and Le Monde, in an investigation conducted by Paris-based media non-profit organisation Forbidden Stories and rights group Amnesty International into a leaked list of more than 50,000 phone numbers from across the world that are believed to have been the target of surveillance through Pegasus software.
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“This is a report by the disrupters for the obstructers. Disrupters are global organisations that 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," Shah said on Monday.
Opposition parties earlier today hit out at the government over the issue and demanded an independent judicial or parliamentary committee probe.
(With PTI inputs)
