Union minister Gen V K Singh on Saturday called The New York Times "Supari Media" over its report which claimed that the Indian government bought the Pegasus spy tool in 2017 as part of a deal with Israel.

The Israeli spyware Pegasus and a missile system were the "centrepieces" of a roughly USD 2 billion deal of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear between India and Israel in 2017, according to the report in The New York Times.

A massive controversy erupted last year when the NSO Group hit the headlines with the alleged use of its Pegasus software by some governments to spy on journalists, human rights defenders, politicians and others in a number of countries, including India, triggered concerns over issues relating to privacy.

Reacting to NYT's report, Singh, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation, said on Twitter: "Can you trust NYT?? They are known "Supari Media"."

Singh is also a former Indian Army chief.