Although it's been a year since the snooping row hit India, the BJP-led government has skirted its responsibility by initially denying allegations and later making unclear statements, none of which categorically say that it didn’t use the spyware.
Behind IT Minister's Pegasus remarks, a history of obfuscation by MeitY medianama.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medianama.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By now, ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party members have fulminated and muttered complaints about the massive story of illegal surveillance using Pegasus spyware on Indian citizens.
On Monday, new Information Technology minister Ashiwini Vaishnav described the reports as “highly sensational”, hours before it emerged his own phone number had been on a list of potential hacking targets. Union Home Minister Amit Shah attempted to repurpose his infamous chronology comment and make vague remarks about a global conspiracy.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, recently sacked from the Cabinet, asked if this was “revenge for the way India handled Covid, caccination and more than 75% of population are getting free vaccines” even though the consortium of news organisations that broke the story were reporting on surveillance in Mexico, Rwanda, Morocco and Hungary.