NCP (SP) Accuses Maharashtra Government of Using Pegasus on Supriya Sule

Mumbai: In a serious allegation, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday accused the Maharashtra government of using government agencies for surveillance on MP Supriya Sule using Pegasus spyware ahead of State Vidhan Sabha polls. The allegations have come after Sule’s claims that her phone and WhatsApp account were hacked.

NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase alleged that Sule might be under the watch of government agencies. “The BJP is known for keeping a tab on its political opponents and allegations of such nature have been made in the past. We fear that the Pegasus spyware may be used to track the movements of Opposition leaders including Supriya Sule in the lead-up to the Maharashtra Assembly elections,” he said in a statement.

Tapase alleged that the surveillance might be politically motivated, following Sule's recent criticism of the BJP-led central government and demanded that the Maharashtra Home Department should issue an immediate clarification regarding any such surveillance activities. “It is imperative that the Maharashtra Home Ministry clarify whether any surveillance is being conducted on Supriya Sule, Uddhav Thackeray, Jayant Patil, Nana Patole or any other Opposition leaders. Such actions, if true, would be a grave violation of democratic principles,” he added.

The spokesperson accused the BJP of resorting to desperate measures to undermine Sule after failing to defeat her electorally. “The BJP, which was determined to defeat Supriya Sule, finds itself in an uncomfortable position after her electoral success. In an attempt to weaken our party, they engineered a split in the NCP by luring Ajit Pawar to their side,” Tapase said.

Sule on Monday had claimed her phone and WhatsApp account had been hacked. She revealed that the hackers demanded USD 400 from her team via a message following the hacking of her WhatsApp account. A case has since been filed by the Pune police against an unidentified individual in this regard.