Tag: Pegasus

Pegasus not in Rahul Gandhi’s phone but in his mind: MP CM Chouhan

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Bhopal: Hitting out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his claim of being snooped on through Israeli spyware Pegasus, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said that Pegasus is not in the phone, rather it is in the mind of Rahul Gandhi.
Addressing the media here, CM Chouhan said, “Pegasus is not in the phone, it is in the mind of Rahul Gandhi. Pegasus has entered the DNA of the Congress. I pity for his (Rahul Gandhi) intelligence. He goes to foreign countries and makes statements against our country. He talks anti-India by going to foreign embassies. It is a new agenda of the Congress to defame India in foreign countries.”
Criticising the country abroad is an anti-national step. Therefore, the country and the people will never forgive Rahul Gandhi, he added.
Rahul Gandhi, recently in a lecture at Cambridge University, claimed that his phone was being spied on through Pegasus, an Israeli spyware, and that he was warned by intelligence officers to be ‘careful’ about what he speaks on calls.
“I had Pegasus on my phone. A large number of politicians had Pegasus on their phones. I have been called by intelligence officers who told me, ‘Please be careful about what you are saying on the phone because we are sort of recording the stuff’. So this is the constant pressure that we feel. Cases on the opposition. I have got a number of criminal liable cases for things that should under no circumstances be criminal liable cases. That’s what we are trying to defend,” the Congress leader said in his address.
CM Chouhan further slammed former CM Kamal Nath over raising questions on Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana.
Chouhan said, “I am asking very responsibly today and Nath has to answer. I asked earlier as well but did not get an answer. In 2017, we started depositing Rs 1,000 in the bank accounts of women belonging to Baiga, Bharia and Sahariya tribes. So that their children in the family can be nurtured properly.”
“We deposited Rs 1,000 in the accounts of the women till our government remained in power in the state which was till 2018. As soon as the Congress government came to power, why did you (Nath) stop depositing Rs 1,000 to the accounts of Baiga, Bharia, Sahariya sisters? Today these women are asking you a question,” he added.

Besides, the chief minister said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Indore is an era that goes ahead of time. Indore has made another innovation, we had seen ambulances for humans, ambulances for animals, but now tree ambulances have been started in Indore for taking care of trees.”
If any plant gets sick in the gardens or on the roadsides, then this ambulance will take care of the plants in the city. They will spray insecticide. On receiving a call, this ambulance reaches to treat the plants, Chouhan said.
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#Pegasus #Rahul #Gandhis #phone #mind #Chouhan
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 5, 2023
BJP, Cong trade barbs over Rahul’s Pegasus remarks at Cambridge University

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New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks at Cambridge University that he was under surveillance triggered a political slugfest on Friday with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil and the Congress hitting back by citing instances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi raking up internal politics abroad.
Gandhi, who is a visiting fellow of the Cambridge Judge Business School, during a lecture ‘Learning to Listen in the 21st Century’ on Tuesday evening said Indian democracy is under attack and several politicians, including himself, are under surveillance.
Referring to the controversial Pegasus snooping issue, Gandhi alleged that the Israeli spyware was installed on the phones of a large number of politicians, including him.
“I, myself, had Pegasus on my phone. A large number of politicians have Pegasus on their phones. I’ve been called by intelligence officers who say please be careful what you say on the phone because we are sort of recording this stuff. So, this is a constant pressure that we feel,” the 52-year-old former Congress chief claimed at the lecture, a video recording of which was posted on Twitter by Congress leader Sam Pitroda, ex-adviser to former prime minister Manmohan Singh.
Reacting to the remarks, Union Minister Anurag Thakur hit out at Gandhi over his claims of being under surveillance by intelligence agencies and accused him of maligning India on foreign soil after facing successive electoral setbacks. “Pegasus is not in Rahul Gandhi’s phone but in his mind,” he said.
Thakur wondered what prevented Gandhi and other Congress leaders from submitting their phones to a Supreme Court-appointed technical committee that probed the Pegasus snooping issue.
“We can understand his hatred towards the prime minister, but the conspiracy to malign the country on foreign soil with the help of foreign friends raises questions on the agenda of the Congress,” the information and broadcasting minister told reporters here.
Thakur said Gandhi was aware of the electoral rout the Congress was facing in the assembly elections and had resorted to levelling allegations from foreign soil.

“Once again, the Congress lost in the elections but their bankruptcy was evident when they lost no opportunity to malign India from foreign soil,” he said.
Hitting back at Thakur and the BJP for its criticism of Gandhi, the Congress cited instances of Prime Minister Modi going abroad and allegedly raising internal politics and criticising the Congress.
“I have seen those foolish statements given by Anurag ‘Golimaaro’ Thakur,” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said in an apparent reference to the ‘Golimaro’ slogans purportedly raised at a public meeting of Thakur last year.
She urged the information and broadcasting minister him to listen to Gandhi’s full lecture.
On BJP’s criticism that Gandhi was “maligning” the country from foreign soil, Shrinate said the kind of statements Modi had made in places such as Shanghai, Toronto, California, Seoul and Abu Dhabi on internal politics and against the leading Opposition party of the country, if those are recounted then the BJP will have no place to hide.
If they listen to Rahul Gandhi’s lecture, they would get to know that he has talked about democracy and how the media, judiciary and the Opposition are intimidated and how it is important for agencies to remain impartial, she said.
“He (Gandhi) has talked about strengthening democracy. Those who give statements of ‘Golimaaro’ from stage and become cabinet minister from minister of state, they can never understand the meaning of these remarks,” she said.
Congress’ head of media and publicity department Pawan Khera said the party would like to advise the BJP that they should stop such activities which are shameful to even discuss.
“So if they stop doing such activities, we will stop discussing them. There is an allegation on you (BJP) took the help of Israel to snoop into the phones of Opposition and your own leaders. They don’t feel ashamed of that, but if it is discussed they feel shame,” he said.
The BJP thinks that England will not find out about their raid on BBC if the Congress does not discuss it, he said.
“We are living in a different era we are not living in the 17th or 18th century where news travelled at the speed of a camel cart or at the speed of a pigeon. Now if I am talking to you anybody sitting in Papua New Guinea can hear me out,” Khera said.
In an apparent swipe at Prime Minister Modi, Khera claimed that from foreign soil he made fun of the country. “The kind of activities you are involved in, you should first be ashamed of that. We will stop discussing them then so that you don’t feel ashamed,” the Congress leader said.
Earlier, the BJP made light of Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that he was being snooped upon, saying the Congress leader was “hallucinating” and makes such claims as he wants to create headlines wherever he goes.
“What we can say for Rahul Gandhi’s hallucinations. If he makes his (Congress) MoU with China public, we will be interested and people of India will also like to know. Who is interested in his telephonic conversations,” BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan told reporters.
Vadakkan noted that the Supreme Court has closed the Pegasus matter.
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#BJP #Cong #trade #barbs #Rahuls #Pegasus #remarks #Cambridge #University
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 3, 2023
‘I had Pegasus on my phone, Indian democracy under attack’: Rahul at Cambridge

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Cambridge: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack at the Centre during a lecture at Cambridge University, alleging that an attack has been unleashed on the basic structure of Indian democracy while also claiming that Israeli spyware Pegasus was being used to snoop into his phone.
Rahul claimed that he had been warned by the intelligence officers to be “careful” while speaking on the phone as his calls were being recorded.
Congress leader and ex-advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sam Pitroda shared the YouTube link of Rahul Gandhi’s address to MBA students at Cambridge Judge Business School on the topic of ‘Learning to Listen in the 21st Century’, on Twitter.
“I myself had Pegasus on my phone. A large number of politicians had Pegasus on their phones. I have been called by intelligence officers who told me, ‘Please be careful about what you are saying on the phone because we are sort of recording the stuff. So this is the constant pressure that we feel. Cases on the Opposition. I have got a number of criminal liable cases for things that should under no circumstances be criminal liable cases. That’s what we are trying to defend,” the Congress leader said in his address.
In August last year, the Supreme Court-appointed committee, set up to look into the allegations of the government allegedly using Pegasus for snooping, had concluded that the spyware was not found in the 29 mobile phones examined by it, but the malware was found in five mobile phones.
Reading the report of the committee, the bench had said, “We are concerned about the technical committee report… 29 phones were given and in five phones some malware was found but the technical committee says it cannot be said to be Pegasus.”
Rahul alleged further that constraints were being put on the Parliament, press and the Judiciary in the country.
“Everybody knows and it’s been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space. The institutional framework which is required for a democracy — Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, moving around — all are getting constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy,” the Congress MP alleged.

Sharing a picture of himself in the presentation slide in which he is seen being held by the police personnel, the Congress leader claimed that the Opposition leaders were “locked up” in jail for “just standing” in front of the Parliament House to talk about some issues, while also alleging that such incidents have happened “relatively violently”.
“In the Constitution, India is described as a Union of States, and that Union requires negotiation and conversation. It is that negotiation that is under attack and threat. You can see the picture which is taken in front of Parliament House. The Opposition leaders were just standing there talking about certain issues, and we were put in jail. That’s happened 3 or 4 times. It has happened relatively violently. You have also heard of the attacks on minorities and the press. You get a sense of what is going on,” Rahul claimed.
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#Pegasus #phone #Indian #democracy #attack #Rahul #Cambridge
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 3, 2023