Union Minister General VK Singh on Saturday labelled New York Times a supari media over its Pegasus reports which claimed that the Indian government bought Pegasus spyware from Israeli firm NSO group in 2017 as a part of country’s defence deal.

The NYT report claimed that the government purchased the Israeli spyware Pegasus made by NSO group paying roughly USD 2 billion in 2017 to Israel. The highly secured deal was the part of defence deal between India and Israel, the report claimed.

Reacting to NYT’s report, Singh tweeted can you trust NYT?? They are known Supari Media.

The former Army Chief VK Singh is the minister of state for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation in PM Modi cabinet. 

The Pegasus controversy come into focus when the The Wire in collaboration with other investigative agencies claimed that the NSO made spyware alleged its use against the public, military and civil officers, politicians, activists, judges and journalists for illegal surveillance.

Soon after the NYT report outbreak, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and several other leaders reacted to the report and also tweeted the inputs of from the current Pegasus report.

The Opposition led by Rahul Gandhi have been made several allegation on PM Modi government but, however, the government had denied all the allegations saying that the govt has nothing to do with Pegasus spyware. Earlier the government had clarified in parliament that it has not made any transaction with the Israeli firm NSO.

The Supreme Court had set up a 3-member technical committee to probe the alleged use of Pegasus for targeting politicians, civil and human rights activists and jounalists.

The post Union Minister VK Singh calls NYT supari media over its Pegasus report appeared first on APN News.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Central Government of using the Pegasus software to spy on the opponents. He also alleged that all his phone calls were tapped and that his security men had been asked to report on everything he said. He also demanded a court-monitored inquiry, which was rejected by the government.

My phone was tapped. It’s not a matter of Rahul Gandhi’s privacy. I’m an opposition leader, I raise the voices of people. This is an attack on the voices of the people. Home Minister should resign & there should be a Supreme Court inquiry against Narendra Modi, said Rahul Gandhi on Pegasus

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, two union ministers – Ashwini Vaishnaw, Prahlad Singh Patel, and former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa a former CBI chief, a virologist, and 40 journalists are on the list of 300 phones from India. It is not established, however, that all the phones were hacked.

Gandhi claimed he had been told by security personnel that his conversations were monitored.

I get phone calls from IB (Intelligence Bureau) people who tap my phone. They say your phone is being tapped. My security people tell me they have to debrief what I say. I am in no pretensions that I am tapped, he said, adding that even his friends received calls informing them that phones were tapped.

I am not afraid. I don’t get intimidated. In this country, if you are corrupt and a thief, you will be afraid. If you are neither of those, you have nothing to be afraid of, he said.

Not only this, Gandhi went on to say only a government can buy Pegasus. The Prime Minister’s signature, or at least the Home Minister’s signature, is needed for it. The military of a nation cannot buy Pegasus.

Read Also: Yediyurappa turns on sympathy tap, says may not last as Karnataka CM

However, the government has denied opposition allegations of snooping and has denied any role amid daily revelations of potential targets.

In other India news, Delhi police have arrested a 21-year-old man for blackmailing women from South Asian countries.

The post Rahul Gandhi accuses Centre of using Pegasus software to spy on rivals, says his phone was tapped appeared first on APN News.