Pegasus saga: NCP fears foreign powers may be snooping on India
Darpan News Desk IANS, 10 Aug, 2021 11:39 AM
Mumbai, Aug 10 (IANS) Throwing a new dimension to the ongoing Pegasus spyware phone-tapping controversy, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) expressed deep apprehensions that some 'foreign powers' may be snooping on the country, here on Tuesday.
Terming it as "a very serious matter", NCP National Spokesperson and Minorities Affairs Minister Nawab Malik in Maharashtra said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Centre must issue a proper clarification in Parliament.
"The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said that it has nothing to do with the Pegasus matter. The Centre must make a proper statement in Parliament through some senior minister to the effect that the government has no links with the NSO Group Technologies," Malik urged.
He said that if the Centre's claim was indeed true, then it becomes even more serious as it could point to some foreign powers snooping on the country and its top institutions and individuals.
"The phones of several opposition leaders, Supreme Court judges, Election Commission of India, lawyers, journalists, industrialists have been tapped, but the MoD claims it has no links with Pegasus. Then who is responsible for this," Malik asked.
In view of this, the NCP leader said it was imperative for the Centre to immediately order a probe into the matter to reveal the truth, as the Congress demanded a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.
Malik's comments came a day after the Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt informed the Rajya Sabha that the MoD has not had any transactions with the NSO Group Technologies of Israel, as Parliament deadlock continues with the opposition firm on a debate in the house.
Major Mahadik, who had joined the Army in 2012 and commissioned in the 7th Battalion of Bihar Regiment, died in the fire at his camp in Tawang near the Indo-China border in December 2017.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has told his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to “give peace a chance” and assured him that he “stands by” his words and would “immediately act”
At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were killed in the worst attack on the security forces since the militancy erupted in the Kashmir valley in 1989. The Pakistan-based JeM had claimed responsibility.
The NHSRCL, which is spearheading the project, has asked for entries for the name and designing of mascot for the train by March 25, a statement said. Interested participants can do the same by logging on to mygov.in.
