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TMC-BJP hit out at each other over Pegasus spyware row
YB WEB DESK. Dated: 7/22/2021 12:08:36 PM
Kolkata, July 21 On a day when the Trinamool Congress (TMC) launched a scathing attack on the central government over the Pegasus spyware issue, Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh alleged that it was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had been snooping on the saffron camp. Addressing the BJP workers in West Bengal through video conferencing, the party's state president stated that Mamata Banerjee had a habit of tapping phones and accused her government of using Pegasus. "Mamata Banerjee has a habit of phone tapping. Mamata uses Pegasus. It is Congress' culture to tap phones. Indira Gandhi did so and so does Mamata," said Ghosh, the Medinipur MP, from Delhi on Wednesday. Ghosh's comments came simultaneously as Mamata Banerjee was making similar allegations against the BJP-led central government during TMC's annual martyr's day event on Wednesday. The West Bengal CM claimed that her phone was being tapped as well by the "dangerous and ferocious" Pegasus spyware. She went on to show that she had "plastered" her phone to prevent snooping. Taking a dig at her comments, Ghosh claimed that no Trinamool leader or minister speaks on a normal call but through WhatsApp. He stated that Mamata Banerjee not only snoops at her rivals but also her own party leaders. "TMC leaders don't communicate except for messaging on WhatsApp, as they know that Mamata Banerjee herself taps their phones," said Ghosh. He also said that Mukul Roy, who switched back to the TMC after joining BJP in 2017, had moved the Supreme Court, alleging that his phone was being tapped by the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government in 2018. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee appealed to the apex court to take suo motu cognizance of the alleged snooping by the Israeli spyware Pegasus. "I have plastered my phone because they tap everything, be it video or audio,” said Mamata Banerjee as she showed her mobile camera covered with tape. The Bengal CM also claimed that she is unable to speak with her counterparts in Delhi and Odisha. “Pegasus is dangerous. They are harassing people.