Aaditya Backs Rahul Gandhi’s Phone Tapping Allegations

Thackeray suggested that intelligence and surveillance infrastructure should instead be used to tackle terrorism, criminal activities and threats to national security.

“Even before this, on one hand, this whole setup and force is being used against political opponents, journalists and all the different voices in the country. If all these systems, this entire intelligence network, were used against anti-national activities, terrorists and criminals instead, I think it would actually benefit this government and the country,” he said.

Referring to the Pegasus controversy, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also recalled previous allegations of surveillance in Maharashtra, saying Congress leader Nana Patole had raised the issue in the state Assembly and read out a list of names.

His remarks came after Gandhi alleged that the Modi-led government was tapping the phones of Opposition leaders. Gandhi also claimed that around 200 government officials, including personnel from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Ministry of External Affairs, were in touch with the Opposition and sharing information from within the system.

Gandhi has claimed that information concerning alleged links with foreign powers was available on his phone, adding that an open debate would bring the matter into the public domain.

Earlier, Thackeray had also backed Gandhi after publicly supporting the Congress leader as the prime ministerial candidate for the INDIA bloc. Last month, Thackeray said the Shiv Sena (UBT) was comfortable with Gandhi’s leadership, describing him as a well-educated leader with good intentions and a clean record, whose past warnings on various national issues had proved accurate.