‘Supari Media’: Union Minister VK Singh Rebuffs Report On Pegasus, Ex-Diplomat Rubbishes ‘Insinuation’

Congress on Saturday launched an all-out attack accusing the Centre of deceiving Parliament, duping the Supreme Court, hijacking democracy, and indulging in treason.

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New Delhi: Union MoS Gen (Retd.) Vijay Kumar Singh and India’s former permanent representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, on Saturday dismissed the claims of a media report that said India bought Pegasus spyware from Israel as part of a defence deal in 2017.

According to a report in The New York Times, the Israeli spyware Pegasus and a missile system were the “centerpieces” of a roughly USD 2-billion deal between India and Israel in 2017 involving sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear.

Taking to Twitter, Vijay Kumar Singh, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation, wrote: “Can you trust NYT?? They are known ‘Supari Media’”.  

VK Singh is also a former Army Chief. 

Meanwhile, India’s former permanent representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin dismissed as “utter rubbish” the report’s “insinuation” that India’s 2019 vote in support of Israel at the UN’s Economic and Social Council highlighted deepening of ties following the deal that included the sale of Pegasus.

“The insinuation about India’s UN vote is utter rubbish…” he tweeted.

With this report, Congress has once again scaled up its attack on the BJP-led Union government with regard to the Pegasus spyware.

Congress Urges SC To Take Suo Motu Cognisance Of Matter

Congress on Saturday launched an all-out attack accusing the Centre of deceiving Parliament, duping the Supreme Court, hijacking democracy, and indulging in treason.

“The Modi Government bought Pegasus to spy on our primary democratic institutions, politicians, and public. Government functionaries, opposition leaders, armed forces, judiciary all were targeted by these phone tappings. This is treason,” Rahul Gandhi alleged earlier today.

“The Modi Government has committed treason,” he wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the party stated that it intends to raise the issue in the budget session starting next week, in an attempt to seek accountability from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government on the floor of Parliament.

The principal opposition party has also urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter along with appropriate penal proceedings against the government for attempting to “deliberately and knowingly deceive” the apex court.

(With Agency Inputs)