Indian ministers, opp leaders among ‘targets’

Spyware Pegasus, which is sold by the NSO Group of Israel, may have been used to conduct surveillance on about 300 Indians, including two serving Cabinet ministers at the Centre, three opposition leaders, a Constitutional authority, government officials, scientists and about 40 journalists, according to French media nonprofit, Forbidden Stories, and Amnesty International.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, election strategist Prashant Kishor and Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw are the big names revealed as potential targets of Israeli spyware 'Pegasus' in the second set of explosive revelations by The Wire.

Apart from opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the latest reveal, according to The Wire, includes two current Union Ministers, Prahlad Patel and Ashwini Vaishnaw. Vaishnaw, who joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet recently, is IT Minister. He was an MP at the time when the names were targeted - 2018 and 2019.

Vaishnaw defended the government in parliament earlier yesterday, saying there was "no substance" behind the sensational claims. It was "no coincidence" that the news broke a day before the start of the monsoon session of parliament, he said.