Pegasus snooping row: IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw dismisses allegations

After the names of Opposition leaders, journalists and activists appeared on the list who were targeted using Pegasus spyware in a snooping attempt, the Centre dismissed the allegations, claiming a lack of facts and logic.

Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, on the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament, said the allegations appeared to be an attempt to malign Indian democracy. He said the data shared had nothing to do with surveillance and that there was no concrete basis for the allegations.

The IT minister in the Lok Sabha said that similar claims were made in the past regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp, which certainly had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including in the supreme court.

Pegasus spyware, developed by Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group, is in the news after reports of alleged surveillance were published by news portals including the Washington Post and the Guardian. The reports claimed that over 10 governments used this spyware on journalists, activists and other key media personalities. The reports claimed that the spyware was used in India to target the phones of several prominent journalists and politicians.