At Cambridge, Rahul brings up Pegasus; defaming India, says min

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacts with people at Cambridge University in London. Pic/PTI

Indian democracy is under threat, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said during a lecture at Cambridge University, claiming that several politicians are under surveillance. Gandhi made the comments during his lecture on "Learning to Listen in the 21st Century". Gandhi alleged that the Israeli spyware, Pegasus, was installed on the phones of a large number of politicians, including him.

"Indian democracy is under attack. The institutional framework that is required for a democracy - Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation
- are all getting constrained... There is also attack on minorities and press. "A large number of political leaders have Pegasus on their phones. I myself had Pegasus on my phone. I've been called by intelligence officers who say please be careful of what you say on the phone as we are recording the stuff," the former Congress chief claimed.

Also read: Man posing as Union Minister, Sonia Gandhi's PA arrested: Delhi Police

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Friday hit out at Gandhi over his claims of being under surveillance by intelligence agencies and accused him of maligning India on foreign soil after facing successive electoral setbacks. "We can understand his hatred towards the prime minister, but the conspiracy to malign the country on foreign soil with the help of foreign friends raises questions on the agenda of the Congress," Thakur, the information and broadcasting minister, said.

"What we can say for Rahul Gandhi's hallucinations. If he makes his (Congress) MoU with China public, we will be interested and people of India will also like to know. Who is interested in his telephonic conversations," BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan told reporters.

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