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Pegasus: Mamata Banerjee sets up first inquiry panel into spying scandal

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced to form a two-member panel comprising the retired Supreme Court judge MV Lokur and former Calcutta High Court judge Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya to probe the alleged snooping of public figures using the Pegasus spyware.

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced to form a two-member panel headed by the retired Supreme Court judge MV Lokur and former Calcutta High Court judge Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya to probe the alleged snooping of public figures using the Pegasus spyware.

The announcement comes hours before Mamata Banerjee arrives in Delhi for a much-publicised visit that is being linked to her calls to form an opposition alliance against the BJP.

The decision to form a constitutional panel was taken at a special cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister. An unknown source told the reporters that the two-member panel has been tasked with submitting its report in four weeks.

With such announcement, West Bengal became the first state to initiate a commission of inquiry in to an alleged Pegasus phone-hacking scandal.

Mamata Banerjee said the panel was being formed under the Commission of Inquiry Act and would probe who did the hacking, how they did it and why people’s voice was being stifled ?

Announcing the name of two-member panel, Banerjee said through Pegasus, everyone, including judiciary and civic society, has been under surveillance.

The announcement comes days after the name of her nephew Abhishek Banerjee appeared on a list of potential surveillance targets using the Pegasus spyware.

The names of Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee and poll strategist Prashant Kishor were on the list of those allegedly chosen for surveillance by the Pegasus spyware. Abhishek Banerjee is the nephew of Mamata Banerjee and a leader of the Trinamool Congress, while Kishor had managed the TMC’s successful campaign in the recently concluded Assembly polls in Bengal.

Terming it a threat to democracy, last week, Banerjee had said that three things make democracy – media, judiciary and the Election Commission – and Pegasus has captured all three. Calling the Israeli military-grade spyware dangerous, Banerjee had said she could not even talk to other opposition leaders, as she feared her phone too had been tapped.

A political debate erupted in the country and other parts of the globe after media reports claimed that the Pegasus spyware was used to infiltrate phones and conduct surveillance on political leaders, government officials and journalists.

Read Also: We spotted NRI Karan Abbott and Bollywood actor Chunky Pandey at a plush Mumbai hotel

In the second reports revealed by The Wire, Abhishek Banerjee, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and poll strategist Prashant Kishor were on the list of potential Pegasus targets.

In other India News, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide VK Jain, ED officer Rajeshwar Singh were among the potential snooping targets of the Pegasus spyware, The Wire has reported in the latest revelations in the snooping scandal.

2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Rahul Gandhi to contest from Raebareli, KL Sharma from Amethi

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The Congress party unveiled its list of candidates on Friday, and the party has picked Rahul Gandhi from Raebareli and Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi has been nominated. After a great deal of speculation regarding the two Uttar Pradesh seats, the announcement was made.

Raebareli and Amethi have both been strongholds for the Congress. Rahul Gandhi lost against BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi.

Today is the final day for Rahul Gandhi and KL Sharma to submit their nominations. On May 20, Amethi and Raebareli will hold their fifth round of elections, which will comprise seven phases.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s son Karan gets BJP Lok Sabha ticket from Kaiserganj

Karan Singh Bhushan was on December 13, 1990. He competed at the national level in double trap shooting. He has a daughter and a son. Karan Singh Bhushan completed his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and law from Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University.

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BJP on Thursday dropped sitting Kaiserganj MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by women wrestlers and gave a ticket to his son, Karan Bhushan Singh. Karan Bhushan, Brij Bhushan’s younger son, is the president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association. He is also the head of The Cooperative Bank in Nawabganj in Gonda district.

Karan Singh Bhushan was on December 13, 1990. He competed at the national level in double trap shooting. He has a daughter and a son. Karan Singh Bhushan completed his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and law from Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University.

He has also holds a diploma in business management from Australia. Karan Bhushan Singh is presently the president of the Uttar Pradesh wrestling association. Earlier he was the senior vice president of the UP wrestling association. Elections will be take place in Kaiserganj in the 5th phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 20. Karan Bhushan Singh is likely to file his nomination from Kaiserganj on May 3.

There has been a lot of speculation and suspense on Brij Bhushan Sharan seat this time as the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief, who is also a 6-term MP, had been accused of sexual harassment by some of the India’s top wrestlers.

Many female wrestlers, including medallists, protested against the BJP leader and demanded his arrest over the charges of sexual harassment while he was serving the position of the WFI president. Wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, sat on a protest at the Jantar Mantar and demanded action against the Kaiseganj MP.

The Delhi Police later registered a case against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354D (stalking), 354A (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, on June 15, 2023. But he was granted bail on July 20, 2023.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Rahul Gandhi criticises BJP, PM Modi for JD(S) alliance, seeking votes for a mass rapist

Rahul Gandhi was addressing an election rally in Karnataka’s Shivmogga where he said that PM Modi is seeking votes for a mass rapist. The Congress leader added that Narendra Modi, from a packed stage, supports that rapist and said: if the people of Karnataka vote for this rapist, it will help him.

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that the sex video  case involving Prajwal Revanna, the member of Parliament from Karnataka’s Hassan, is not just a mere sex scandal but of mass rape. He also criticised the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the JD(S) and seeking votes for a mass rapist.

Rahul Gandhi was addressing an election rally in Karnataka’s Shivmogga where he said that PM Modi is seeking votes for a mass rapist. Prajwal Revanna raped a number of women and made their sex videos. The Congress leader added that Narendra Modi, from a packed stage, supports that rapist and said: if the people of Karnataka vote for this rapist, it will help him. Gandhi accused PM Modi of helping Revanna (former PM HD Deve Gowda’s grandson) escape from India.

Gandhi said even when Prajwal Revanna raped a number of women, the prime minister did not stop him from going to Germany. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has all the machinery, yet he allowed the mass rapist to flee to Germany. He took a sarcastic dig at PM Modi and said this is Modi’s guarantee. The Congress leader asserted that whether it’s a corrupt leader or a mass rapist, the BJP will always protect him.

Prajwal Revanna, the sitting MP from Hassan and the grandson of former PM HD Deve Gowda, has been accused of being in purported sex tapes. A number of pen drives allegedly contain his sexual assault videos which were circulated in Hassan, the Lok Sabha constituency from where he is the BJP-JD (S) candidate.

Most of the sex videos were recorded by Prajwal Revanna in his office and house. Initially, the Gowda family and the BJP termed the tapes as being doctored to tarnish the image of the family in elections but later, HD Kumaraswamy distanced himself from the tapes and said the police is investigating the matter.

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