A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, was caught on camera threatening a top cop with call records despite the fact that the Narendra Modi government denied snooping on journalists and politicians.
In a video that went viral on Tuesday, Adhikari can be seen saying in Bengali: "I have each and every call record, phone number of all those who call you from the office of the nephew [Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of state chief Mamata Banerjee]."
He warned the East Midnapore district Police Superintendent Amarnath K "against indulging in acts which may lead to his being transferred to the Kashmir region".
The West Bengal police have now filed a case against Adhikari after the policeman launched an official complaint.
A report published by a media consortium stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's biggest rival, Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress (TMC) politician Abhishek Banerjee, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, and 40 journalists among 300 people were allegedly targeted for hacking via Israeli spyware Pegasus.
India's federal Information and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday dismissed the report of snooping in the Parliament. Interestingly, Vishnaw's name also appeared on the list.
In a tweet, TMC lawmaker Abhishek Banerjee called the BJP "sore losers" and asked the party to "come prepared with better resources in 2024".