Rahul Gandhi Was 'Potential' Spyware Target Ahead of 2019 Elections: Report
Amid a series of reports revealing the possibility of several high-profile journalists, ministers, and Opposition leaders being targeted by the Israel-made spyware Pegasus, a report by an Indian news portal has claimed that former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, too, was targeted.
The Wire and its media partners in the 'Pegasus Project' reported that at least two mobile phone accounts used by Gandhi were among the several Indian contacts listed as "potential targets."
Other than Gandhi, numbers of five of his friends and acquaintances were also reportedly targeted.
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The numbers that are believed to be targetted from mid-2018 to mid-2019 have been given up by Gandhi and he no longer has the handsets that he used at the time, according to the report.
None of the five people close to Gandhi who were targetted are reported to be political or public personalities.
The report further said that without forensics, "it is not possible to conclusively establish whether Pegasus was deployed against Gandhi".
Who are the Aides Who Were Targettd?
The Wire said that it has witheld the identity of the five acquaintainces targetted for reasons of privacy as requested by them. Three out of the five indicduals agreed to speak to The Wire, out of which two are women. One of the five people are still using the handset that they used back then.
Other than the five unnamed acquaintances, the phone numbers of Gandhi's two close aides, Alankar Sawai and Sachin Rao, are also present in the database, according to the report.
While Rao is a member of the Congress Working Committee, Sawai is works with Gandhi's office.
Both Sawai and Rao do not use the handsets that they used in the period of 2018-2019 when they are believed to be targetted.
What Did Rahul Gandhi Say?
The Wire reached out to Gandhi who told the organisation that he had received suspicious WhatsApp messages in the past and that he frequently changed numbers and phones to make it difficult to be targetted.
"Targeted surveillance of the type you describe whether in regard to me, other leaders of the opposition or indeed any law-abiding citizen of India is illegal and deplorable. If your information is correct, the scale and nature of surveillance you describe goes beyond an attack on the privacy of individuals. It is an attack on the democratic foundations of our country. It must be thoroughly investigated and those responsible be identified and punished," he told The Wire.