Senior Congress Chairman P. Chidambaram on Sunday unearthed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message marking the completion of 30 years of full-fledged diplomatic ties between India and Israel amid the recent row over the Pegasus spyware controversy.
On Twitter, Chidambaram urged PM Modi to ask Israel if it had an advanced version of the Pegasus spyware purchased by the Modi government as part of a $2 billion deal with Israel for military hardware and intelligence tools in 2017 would. according to the New York Times report.
The last deal was for $2 billion. India can do better this time. If we get more sophisticated spyware before the 2024 election, we might as well give them $4 billion
— P Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) January 30, 2022
On Saturday, PM Modi issued a special video message marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. “The history of relations between our countries is very old. There has been a strong relationship between the people of India and Israel for centuries,” Prime Minister Modi said.
WHAT DOES CONGRESS SAY?
After the NYT report claimed India bought the Pegasus spyware from Israel as part of a defense deal in 2017, Congress launched an all-out attack on the government, accusing it of deceiving parliament, deceiving the Supreme Court, democracies to kidnap and indulge in betrayal.
Congress said it intends to raise the issue in the budget session starting next week and hold PM Modi and the BJP government accountable in Parliament.
With Congress making its intention clear, the shadow of the Pegasus question looms large again over the 2022 budget session as the entire 2021 Monsoon session was washed out after the opposition collectively dropped proceedings on the issue.
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi accused the government of high treason by allegedly “tapping” the phones of opposition leaders, the armed forces and the judiciary using Pagasus spyware.
“The Modi government bought Pegasus to spy on our key democratic institutions, politicians and the public. Government officials, opposition leaders, the armed forces and the judiciary have all been targeted by these phone taps. This is treason,” Gandhi said on Twitter.
“The Modi government has committed treason,” he claimed.
WHAT DOES THE NYT REPORT SAY?
the Report of the New York Times titled “The Battle for the World’s Most Powerful Cyberweapon,” said that Israeli spyware Pegasus and a missile system were the “hearts” of a roughly $2 billion deal between India and Israel in 2017 for advanced weapons and intelligence equipment.
The report also referred to PM Modi’s visit to Israel in July 2017 – as the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country.
“India had for decades maintained a policy of so-called ‘engagement in the Palestinian cause’ and relations with Israel were chilly. However, Modi’s visit was particularly heartfelt, complete with a carefully staged moment in which he and (then Israeli) Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu walked barefoot on a local beach,” it added.
“They had reason for the warm feelings. Their countries had agreed to sell a package of advanced weapons and intelligence equipment worth around $2 billion – with Pegasus and a missile system at its core,” the report said.
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