Pegasus Row | 'Sensationalism, no substance'; illegal surveillance not possible in India, says IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in Lok Sabha

Amid the row over alleged use of Pegasus spyware in India, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, told the Lok Sabha on July 19 that illegal surveillance is "not possible" in the country.

The media report which has alleged that judges, journalists and political leaders were being snooped is sensationalist and lacks substance, the minister claimed.

"When we look at this issue through the prism of logic, it clearly emerges that there is no substance, whatsoever, behind this sensationalism," he said.

"Any form of illegal surveillance is not possible with checks and balances in our laws and robust institutions. In India, there is a well-established procedure through which lawful interception of electronic communication is carried out for purpose of national security," Vaishnaw added.

Also Read | Explained | Everything you need to know about Pegasus: The Israeli spyware used to snoop on politicians, activists and journalists

The minister explained that requests for lawful interceptions of electronic communication are made only as per relevant rules under provisions of Section 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and Section 69 of Information Technology Act 2000. "Each case of interception is approved by the competent authority," he noted.

The row over Pegasus spyware "project" erupted on July 18, after an international media consortium reported that more than 300 verified mobile phone numbers in India, including of two serving ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders and one sitting judge besides scores of business persons and activists could have been targeted for hacking through an Israeli spyware sold only to government agencies.

"In the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp. Those reports had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including in the Supreme Court," Vaishnaw said, adding that "the press reports of 18th July 2021 also appear to be an attempt to malign the Indian democracy and its well established institutions".

The minister also told the House that NSO Group, the Israeli software company which sells Pegasus, has dismissed the findings of the international media consortium's report.

"NSO has also said that the list of countries shown using Pegasus is incorrect and many countries mentioned are not even our clients. It also said that most of its clients are western countries. It is evident that NSO has also clearly rubbished the claims in the report," he said.

Vaishnaw urged the lawmakers to read the media report in detail and examine the issue only the basis of facts and logic.

"The basis of this report is that there is a consortium that has got access to a leaked database of 50,000 phone numbers. The allegation is that individuals linked to these phone numbers were being spied upon. However, the report says that the presence of a phone number in the data does not reveal whether was a device was infected by Pegasus or subjected to an attempted hack," he said.

"Without subjecting the phone to this technical analysis, it's not possible to conclusively state whether it witnessed an attempted hack or successfully compromised. The report itself clarifies that presence of a number in the list doesn't amount to snooping," the minister added.

Meanwhile, the Congress, country's largest opposition party, demanded an independent probe into the issue involving alleged phone tapping.

Senior party MP Shashi Tharoor told reporters that "there should be a thorough independent judicial inquiry or a joint parliamentary committee. We cannot just brush it under the carpet."

"GoI has denied resorting to unauthorised surveillance. The question this raises is, if #Pegasus is only sold to governments, which other govts (China/Pak?) are using it to snoop on prominent Indian citizens? Shouldn't the authorities call for an independent investigation (sic)," Tharoor further said on Twitter.