Palaniappan Chidambaram, a key member of India’s main opposition party Congress, on Wednesday suggested on that the Narendra Modi government admitted in the apex court to using Pegasus spyware. The former finance minister, however, said the government hasn't yet explained what it was trying to achieve by snooping on people.
In a series of tweets, Chidambaram, a well-known critic of the Modi government, says that the denial by the solicitor general of India in the Supreme Court about disclosing the information in public through an affidavit is a confession that the spyware was used.
His tweets came after Indian Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the federal government, on Tuesday, told the country's apex court that "we cannot hide anything from the court but it can’t be the subject matter of an affidavit or public discussion."
“The question is whether it (the details) should come before the Court by way of an affidavit or by way of placing before a committee. I’m not saying I don’t want to tell anyone. I’m only saying I don’t want to tell it publicly… Limited point is let me say that before a committee, which will then come before the Court,” Mehta said during a court hearing.
The Supreme Court of India has issued a pre-admission notice to the federal government regarding several petitions seeking an independent probe into the Pegasus controversy, while also observing that it will not ask the government to disclose information that affects national security interests.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India N. V. Ramana said it will discuss and decide the future course of action, after the government reiterated that the matter had national security implications.