NEW DELHI: Stepping up its attack on the government over the WhatsApp spyware case, the Congress on Sunday asked if the Narendra Modi dispensation spied on citizens and political leaders ahead of the 2019 parliamentary election.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked whether those sitting in the echelons of power are guilty of criminal offences and whether the government knew of the illegal spyware being deployed to spy on key persons.
WhatsApp had informed the Indian government in September that the Israeli spyware Pegasus targeted 121 Indian users. Still, the IT ministry has contended that the information received from the messaging app earlier was inadequate and incomplete, according to sources.
Sources at WhatsApp said the messaging platform has now responded to the government's last week's query seeking an explanation on the Pegasus spyware incident that allegedly snooped on journalists and human rights activists across the world, including India.
The IT ministry sources said they have received a reply from WhatsApp and are studying it, and that a view on it will be taken soon.
The Congress on Sunday claimed that senior party leader Priyanka Gandhi had received a message from WhatsApp informing her that her phone was suspected to have been hacked.
The party, however, did not say precisely when Gandhi received the message.
In a related development, two parliamentary panels headed by Congress leaders have decided to examine the WhatsApp snooping case. They will seek details from top government officials, including the Home Secretary.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp on Thursday said Indian journalists and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using an Israeli spyware Pegasus.
Describing the entire WhatsApp snooping episode as worrisome, Congress leader Anand Sharma who chairs the parliamentary standing committing on home affairs, said this issue would be taken up at the panel's next meeting on November 15.