Indian parliament in uproar over report Modi administration spied on opponents, media
- The session was disrupted repeatedly as opposition lawmakers demanded a probe into how the spyware, known as Pegasus, was used in India
- The protests came after a report provided evidence the spyware from the Israel-based NSO Group was used to allegedly infiltrate devices of targets in 50 nations
India’s parliament erupted in protests on Tuesday as opposition lawmakers accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using military-grade spyware to monitor political opponents, journalists and activists.
The session was disrupted repeatedly as opposition lawmakers shouted slogans against Modi’s government and demanded an investigation into how the spyware, known as Pegasus, was used in India.
“This is a national security threat,” an opposition Congress party official, Kapil Sibal, said at a news conference.
The protests came after an investigation by a global media consortium was published on Sunday. Based on leaked targeting data, the findings provided evidence that the spyware from Israel-based NSO Group, the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire company, was used to allegedly infiltrate devices belonging to a range of targets, including journalists, activists and political opponents in 50 countries.
In India, the list of potential surveillance targets included senior Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, at least 40 journalists, a veteran election strategist critical of Modi and a top virologist, according to the investigation.