The Pegasus row erupted last Sunday before the beginning of the current monsoon session of Parliament after an international investigative consortium reported that India was among the countries that used phone hacking software to potentially target politicians, journalists and activists,
West Bengal has ordered an inquiry into the Pegasus snooping row that has rocked the nation since July 18, becoming the first state to do so, said chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday.
“The Cabinet has approved the appointment of a commission of inquiry comprising former Supreme Court judge, Justice (retd) MB Lokur and retired chief justice of Calcutta high court, Justice (retd) Jyotirmay Bhattacharya in the exercise of the power conferred by section 3 of the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1952 in the matter of widely reported illegal hacking, monitoring, putting under surveillance, tracking, recording etc of mobile phones of various persons in the state of West Bengal,” Banerjee said while addressing media at the state secretariat before leaving for Delhi.
The Pegasus row erupted last Sunday before the beginning of the current monsoon session of Parliament after an international investigative consortium reported that India was among the countries that used Israeli company NSO Group’s phone hacking software, Pegasus, to potentially target politicians, journalists and activists.
“Over the past one week, we thought the Centre would initiate a probe, monitored by the apex court on which the citizens have faith. But when we saw that the Centre was apathetic, we decided to appoint a commission of inquiry comprising two retired judges. West Bengal is the first state to do this. They would look into how hacking was being done and who were the persons behind it,” she said.
“If someone is asleep, he must be awakened. This is a small step. Hopefully, this would awaken others. This is has been approved in the cabinet today. We would now request the two retired judged to join and start the inquiry,” she added.
A highly invasive malware, Pegasus can switch on a target’s phone camera and microphone, as well as access data on the device, effectively turning it into a pocket spy.
Banerjee, who had been claiming for long that her phone was being tapped, alleged last week that spyware was used to hack the mobile phone of Prashant Kishor and record an entire meeting with him before the recent assembly elections.
The BJP launched a counter-attack saying that it was nothing but a gimmick of the Mamata Banerjee and that none of the commissions of enquiry formed earlier by the state had yielded any results.
“It appears nothing more than a political gimmick which lacks the support of jurisprudence and support of the Indian legal mechanism. Since coming to power in 2011 her government has so far formed innumerable such commissions using public money. But none of the reports was published or placed in the Legislative Assembly. Earlier multiple political leaders had alleged that their phones were tapped by the TMC government. Will the commission also prove all these?” said Jay Prakash Majumdar, BJP vice president in West Bengal.
In Delhi, Banerjee is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of other non-BJP political leaders. “I am going to Delhi for two to three days…I had sought an appointment with the Prime Minister, and he has given me time. I will also try to meet the President. This apart, several political leaders have requested that they want to meet me. I would try to adjust and accommodate as far as possible in two to three days,” Banerjee said past Thursday while announcing her trip.