Trinamul MP Mahua Moitra has sought Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s protection for parliamentarians who received notifications from Apple that their devices — such as iPhones — are being targeted by “state-sponsored attackers”.
In a letter to Birla on Wednesday, Moitra cited the wave of threat notifications that Opposition MPs received from Monday night onwards. She also referred to past precedence of the Pegasus malware allegedly being used on Opposition leaders, including Trinamul MP and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in 2019-21. The Israeli spyware is sold only to governments.
Moitra wrote: “This illegal surveillance by the government using software available only to state actors is the worst attack on our fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of our great democracy.
“The past few years have seen the targeted attacks on the democratic freedoms of Members of the Opposition and voices of dissent. These include misuse of central agencies and using majoritarian force to repeal, amend and create laws empowering the government to muzzle dissent.”
Mahua added: “Numerous cases of planting fabricated evidence on communication devices have come to light and innocent citizens have been framed to meet political ends.”
She added: “You, sir, are the proverbial keeper of the faith, the guardian of the Lok Sabha and the ultimate parent to each of its members. It is in this capacity that I ask you to immediately provide us the protection required for us to continue doing our duties as a vibrant Opposition which is to question and hold to account the ruling dispensation.”
Brittas call
CPM MP John Brittas on Wednesday wrote to the chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on communications and IT and urged him to call an urgent meeting of the panel to look into the issue of several Opposition leaders receiving the alert from Apple warning them of “state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise” their iPhones.
Brittas, who is a member of the panel, said: “The gravity of this situation cannot be understated, as it not only raises concerns about the security of personal data but also the potential implications for national security. This notification is reminiscent of the Pegasus spyware scandal, which targeted voices critical of the ruling dispensation, and is a matter of deep concern for our democracy.”
He added: “Given the sensitivity and implications of these shocking reports, I earnestly request your good self to take immediate action to comprehensively examine the issue by the Standing Committee as the fundamental rights of citizens are at stake. I believe that it is within the committee’s remit to investigate.”
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the umbrella organisation that led the farmers’ year-long protest against the three farm laws, said the alert “has exposed the authoritarian and anti-constitutional attitude of the Narendra Modi-led Union Government. It reveals the violation of the fundamental right of privacy of all citizens....”
Additional reporting by PTI
