Assn for Democratic Reforms Hari Menon, India head of Gates Foundation In a statement in the Lok Sabha, Union Information and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw questioned the timing of the report and said illegal surveillance was impossible with checks and balances in place. RS pays homage to Milkha Singh, actor Dilip Kumar, others He flagged some chinks in the Pegasus story, while reiterating his predecessor Ravi Shankar Prasad’s statement when the issue first surfaced in Parliament last year. Opposition questions nationality of new minister amid uproar The IT Minister told the Lok Sabha that the report’s timing — a day before the session — could not be a coincidence. “There is no substance behind this sensationalism,” Vaishnaw informed Parliament, arguing three points: “The publisher of the report states that it can’t say if the phone numbers on the published list were under surveillance; the company whose technology was allegedly used has denied these claims; the time tested processes in our country are well-established to ensure that unauthorised surveillance does not occur”.