Amaravati, March 21 (PTI) The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday decided to set up a Legislature House Committee to probe into the alleged purchase and illicit use of Pegasus spyware by the previous Chandrababu Naidu government.

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The Legislative Council and the Assembly had a brief discussion on the issue today with the ruling YSR Congress alleging that the previous TDP regime purchased the spyware to tap telephonic conversation of private persons.

The TDP said it was ready for any inquiry, be it a House Committee, a judicial inquiry or a CBI investigation.

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The furore was sparked off after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee levelled allegations over the spyware. “There is no clarity on whether or not Mamata Banerjee spoke anything on the issue. A Bengali friend of mine said there was not even a mention of the word Pegasus in what she spoke in Bengali. Still, the YSRC activists are trying to make an issue out of it,” TDP MLC and general secretary Nara Lokesh said.

He said though it was not listed on the Council business agenda, the government took up a discussion on Pegasus. The previous DGP D G Sawang himself clarified that no such software was ever purchased by the government. Even the Israeli ambassador said the software was not sold to individuals or private firms as was being alleged by the YSRC. “We are ready for any inquiry,” said Lokesh.

On the other hand, Director General of Police-rank IPS officer A B Venkateswara Rao, against whom the Jagan government made allegations over Pegasus, maintained that no such purchase was ever made. “As long as I was the Intelligence chief (till April 2019), Pegasus or any such spyware was not purchased. That's final. You have to ask the present government if anything was bought after May 2019,” Venkateswara Rao told reporters.

Earlier in the day, Legislative Affairs Minister Buggana Rajendranath moved a motion in the Assembly by saying it was clear from Mamata Banerjee's statement that the Chandrababu government purchased spyware technology either officially or unofficially. “It is clear that the Chandrababu regime acquired such technology to hack the phones and other gadgets of individuals to listen to conversations and also watch the activities live. Naturally, their targets were political leaders, especially the opposition leader, industrialists, film personalities and even wives and husbands,” Buggana said. He said even the Supreme Court constituted a committee to probe into the issue. “Since such serious allegations have come at the national level, there is a need for a thorough investigation,” the Minister said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)