Home Minister Amit Shah should resign and there should be a judicial inquiry by the Supreme Court against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using Pegasus spyware, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Friday.
Addressing the media outside the Parliament complex, Mr Gandhi claimed that he is not a potential target but “every single phone of his is definitely tapped”.
“I get phone calls from IB [Intelligence Bureau] people who tap my phone. They call me up and say beware we are tapping you. My security people tell me that they have to debrief what I say to their seniors,” he said.
Mr Gandhi, however, was quick to add that only those who are “thieves or corrupt will get scared from Narendra Modi”.
“Pegasus is classified by the Israeli State as a weapon and that weapon is supposed to be used against terrorists. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister has used this weapon against the Indian State,” he said.
“They have used it politically, they have used in Karnataka, they have used to scuttle probes, they have used it against the Supreme Court, against all the institutions. The only word for this is treason. There is no other word for this and the Home Minister should resign,” the Congress leader added.
Talking about his phone being tapped, Mr Gandhi said it was not just about the breach of his privacy but an attack on the people whose voices he raises.
He claimed the government used the spyware against the Supreme Court as well as the former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director [Alok Verma] when a case was about to be registered in the Rafale deal.
“I have said very clearly that there has been gross theft in Rafale. For whatever reason, none of you people supported me. But truth has a way of coming out. There is an inquiry in France and the Prime Minister himself is responsible for corruption in Rafale,”he said.
“The real question is why on the last minute when the CBI Director was about to file an FIR, why was his phone tapped and why was he blackmailed? And who did it? That’s the real question,” said Mr Gandhi.
The Congress leader’s press conference followed a protests by Opposition members including Congress, DMK and Shiv Sena over the Pegasus snooping controversy.
Asked about the farmers’ protests, Mr Gandhi said “there is nothing to discuss” as he reiterated the Opposition stance of repealing the laws.