New Delhi: Accusing the government of "treason" and compromising on national security over the Pegasus spyware issue, the Congress on Monday demanded the sacking of Home Minister Amit Shah and a probe into the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the matter.
Alleging that the government was listening to "bedroom conversations", Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala held Shah responsible for the Pegasus spying issue and said that his party's first demand is his dismissal from the post he occupies.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that Shah should immediately resign as he "does not deserve" to occupy the position he is holding. On the issue, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "Modiji promotes digital India, but what we are seeing is Surveillance India".
"The Modi government is the deployer and executor of this illegal and unconstitutional snooping and spying racket through Israeli surveillance software Pegasus," he said.
However, the government has denied any role in it.
Explaining the functioning of the spyware and how it could affect people, Surjewala cautioned that Pegasus could be installed in "your daughter or your wife's phone".
"If you are in the washroom, in your bedroom...whatever conversation you are having, you daughter, your wife, your family is having, the Modi government will be able to eavesdrop on it," Surjewala said at a press conference on Monday.
The party was reacting to news report published in The Wire which said that its leader Rahul Gandhi, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, and new IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw were among those who were potential targets of Pegasus.
Listing the number of media platforms whose journalists' phones had been targeted using Pegasus, Surjewala said, "This is why the BJP is known as the Bharatiya Jasoos (spy) Party. The party has long been known for jasoosi."
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also took a swipe at the prime minister on the matter using the hashtag "Pegasus". "We know what he's been reading- everything on your phone", he said on Twitter.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the Pegasus issue is an affront to democracy. "The Pegasus revelations are abhorrent. If true, the Modi government seems to have launched a grave and sinister attack on the Right to Privacy - constitutionally guaranteed to Indian citizens as a Fundamental Right," she said on Twitter.