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Journalism of Courage
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, during his recent lecture at Cambridge University, alleged that the Israeli spyware Pegasus had been used to snoop on him and several other politicians. He alleged that he had been warned by intelligence officers to be “careful” while speaking on the phone as his calls were being recorded.
“I myself had Pegasus on my phone. Large number of politicians have Pegasus on their phones. I’ve been called by Intelligence officers who say please be careful of what you say on your phone as we are recording the stuff,” the Congress leader had said, according to news agency ANI.
Gandhi said, “This is a constant pressure that we feel. I’ve got a number of criminal liable cases registered against me for the things which, under no circumstances, be criminal cases. And that’s what we are trying to defend.”
He continued, “As the Opposition, it is very difficult to communicate with people when you have this type of an assault on media and on the democratic architecture.”
Hitting back at him, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Sports and Youth Affairs, Anurag Singh Thakur, claimed that the Congress leader was “once again crying on an international platform”. Addressing a press conference, he said: “He knew the consequences of doing this … The matter of Pegasus has occupied a deep corner in his head and heart.”
“Today, the kind of respect that Modiji has in the entire world and the recognition that India has gained under the leadership of Modiji … If no one, Rahul Gandhi should have at least listened to Italy’s Prime Minister and its leaders,” he added.
Gandhi, during his lecture, also went on to accuse the Centre of unleashing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy. “Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. The institutional framework which is required for a democracy … the Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation — these are all getting constrained. We are facing an attack on the basic structure of democracy,” he said.
He noted that in the Indian Constitution, the country is described as a Union of States and that Union requires negotiation and conversation. “It is that negotiation that is under attack and threat…there is also attack on minorities and press.
Soon after Gandhi’s comment on politicians having Pegasus on their phones made its way to the public ears as Sam Pitroda, the former advisor to India’s former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, shared the full video of Gandhi’s lecture at Cambridge on Twitter on Friday, Congress President, Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP of misleading the public.
He said, “We’ve raised this issue several times in Parliament but Govt doesn’t answer this. BJP is misleading the public. This has happened to many leaders,” according to news agency ANI.
The Congress leader delivered his first lecture at Cambridge on Tuesday wherein he had called for a new thinking to promote a democratic environment globally. He was speaking at the university’s Judge Business School on the subject ‘Learning to Listen in the 21st Century’ on Tuesday when he also shared that the anger over shifting of manufacturing from “democratic countries” like India and the US to China needs “urgent attention and dialogue”.
During his week-long UK visit, Gandhi is set to interact with representatives of the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) UK chapter and also address an “Indian Diaspora Conference” planned over the weekend in London.
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