Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on March 3, 2023 accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of maligning India on foreign soil because of being unable to deal with successive electoral defeats after the latter claimed that he was under surveillance by intelligence agencies with the use of Israel spyware Pegasus.
Mr Thakur’s remarks came after Mr Gandhi claimed in a speech at Cambridge University that Indian democracy was under threat and that several politicians, including himself, were under surveillance using Israeli spyware Pegasus.
Also read: Pegasus snooping attempt to ‘crush’ Indian democracy: Rahul Gandhi
“We can understand his hatred towards Prime Minister Modi, but the conspiracy to malign the country on foreign soil with the help of foreign friends raises questions on the agenda of the Congress,” Mr Thakur said.
He also wondered what prevented Mr Gandhi and other Congress leaders from submitting their phones to a Supreme Court-appointed technical committee that probed the Pegasus snooping issue. “On Pegasus, what was the compulsion for Rahul Gandhi that he and other leaders did not deposit their mobile phones? What do you want to hide? It has become their habit to defame the country by using foreign soil and foreign friends,” he said.
“Once again, the Congress lost in the elections but their bankruptcy was evident when they lost no opportunity to malign India from foreign soil,”he said.
He urged Mr Gandhi to “at least listen” to what Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had to say about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“She said Prime Minister Modi has emerged as a major leader. Rahul and the Congress are unable to accept repeated electoral setbacks,” Mr Thakur said.
COMMents
SHARE