Rahul Gandhi's "We Know What He's Been Reading" Taunt In Snooping Row

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after phone numbers of Indian ministers, leaders in the opposition, and journalists were found on a database of targets for hacking that used Israeli spyware 'Pegasus' - only available to government.

According to The Wire, which published the report, forensic tests conducted on some phones associated with the target numbers revealed clear signs of targeting by Pegasus spyware.

"We know what he's been reading- everything on your phone!" tweeted the 51-year-old leader, answering his three-day-old tweet where he "wondered what you guys are reading".

We know what he's been reading- everything on your phone!#Pegasus https://t.co/d6spyji5NA

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 19, 2021

The government has denied involvement in the hacking, saying, "The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever."

The report into the spying scandal is based on a leaked database accessed by Paris-based media non-profit Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International that was shared with a host of publications around the world for a collaborative investigation.

The Wire's analysis of the data shows that most of the names, including a sitting Supreme Court judge, two serving ministers in the Narendra Modi government, were targeted between 2018 and 2019, in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections but there was not enough evidence to suggest all phones had been hacked.

Members of the legal community, businessmen, government officials, scientists, activists and others are also on the list of over 300 verified Indian mobile telephone numbers, the reports said.