Rahul Slams Govt Over WhatsApp Spyware Row With Rafale Reference
“… It’s like Modi asking Dassault who made money on the sale of RAFALE jets to India!” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, 31 October, slammed the Modi government over the WhatsApp spyware issue, with a reference to the Rafale deal.
“The Govt seeking WhatsApp’s response on who bought Pegasus to spy on Indian citizens, is like Modi asking Dassault who made money on the sale of RAFALE jets to India!” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.
Catch all the coverage on WhatsApp snooping here.
Gandhi’s response came hours after it was reported that Indian scribes and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using Israeli spyware, Pegasus.
Earlier, the Congress party alleged that the Modi government has been "caught snooping”, as it demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the “illegal hacking” of cellphones.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said India woke up today to bone-chilling news of "flagrant abuse" of privacy by agencies of the present BJP government
"We urge the Supreme Court to take suo moto cognisance of this brazen and blatant illegal hacking of telephones and introduction of spyware by the BJP government agencies and conduct a court-monitored inquiry," he said.
Surjewala said the BJP government has maintained a "conspiratorial silence" on the entire issue with the Information and Broadcasting Secretary and others refusing to respond.
He added that the 'Right to Privacy' has been an anathema to the majoritarian BJP government and over the last five years it has done everything to "crush" the right of the citizens, including dissenting voices.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)