Trinamul vows to disrupt Parliament on hacking: MP Mahua Moitra placed nine questions on Pegasus “snooping”

TMC’s Krishnagar MP Mahua Moitra placed nine questions on behalf of the party for Modi, or Shah, or Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Mahua Moitra.: File photo

Meghdeep Bhattacharyya   |   TT  |   Calcutta   |   21.07.21  : The Trinamul Congress on Tuesday said the party would not allow the proceedings of Parliament to take place in the ongoing monsoon session until the Pegasus “snooping” was discussed in the Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha.

Trinamul alleged that Mamata Banerjee’s phone, too, had been hacked and demanded clear answers from the Centre on the eavesdropping.

Trinamul’s parliamentary party in both the Houses submitted notices on the alleged hack by the Israeli spyware — sold only to government agencies — and protested by the Gandhi statue on the Parliament premises on Tuesday.

“The SPIES and their LIES! It is absolutely unpardonable how the @BJP4India govt. has been snooping on all opposing voices across the country!” said Trinamul in a statement issued on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.On Monday, the names of Trinamul MP Abhishek Banerjee and poll consultant Prashant Kishor had emerged among those whose mobile phones were purportedly targets for the NSO Group’s spyware.

The SPIES and their LIES!

It is absolutely unpardonable how the @BJP4India govt. has been snooping on all opposing voices across the country! Was this done to cater to Shri @narendramodi's peaking insecurities?

We strongly condemn such grave violations.#PegasusSpying

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) July 20, 2021

Trinamul leader in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Tuesday said the party suspected that Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, too, was a victim of the alleged misuse of Pegasus. Mamata herself had on numerous occasions in the past publicly said she suspected her phone had been hacked by the BJP, at times naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah as those responsible for it.

“Was this done to cater to Shri @narendramodi’s peaking insecurities? We strongly condemn such grave violations. #PegasusSpying,” Trinamul tweeted on Tuesday.

Derek O’Brien, Trinamul’s leader in the Rajya Sabha, said: “The Centre has tried to turn the attention of the Opposition parties by mentioning that many other countries have also been the targets of Pegasus. But we do not care about any other country but India.”

“We will not allow the proceedings of Parliament until they discuss the snooping,” he added.

Trinamul’s Krishnagar MP Mahua Moitra placed nine questions on behalf of the party for Modi, or Shah, or Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The questions are:

⚫ Has any ministry or department or agency of the Centre purchased or used Pegasus software at all, and since when?

⚫ Is the Pegasus software still used?

⚫ Who are the people on whom spying happened?

⚫ What is the duration during which the data were collected on these individuals?

⚫ Are the data collected still being retained by these agencies? If so, for what purpose?

⚫ Under what laws did the spying happen on these people?

⚫ Which individuals and agencies requested data collection?

⚫ Which individuals had to provide authorisation for the data to be collected?

⚫ What are the agencies and individuals with whom the collected data had been shared — whether formally or informally?

Seniors in Trinamul said Mamata was likely to come out firing on all cylinders in her Martyrs’ Day address. They said she would not waste time in latching on to the Pegasus “scam” as a major issue, one which could cause the BJP discomfort.