Attempt to Hack Phones of Opposition Leaders

Rattled by the unity of the people against the anti-poor and anti-worker regime, the Modi-BJP establishment is playing dirty tricks, said CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Com. Dipankar. He was expressing serious concern over the phone-hacking attempts against opposition MPs and leaders of INDIA alliance.

On the intervening night of October 30th and 31st, several senior leaders of opposition parties – like AAP, INC, TMC, CPM, some members of their offices and few prominent journalists – received a warning from Apple Inc., which flagged that “state-sponsored attackers” were “trying to remotely compromise” their iPhones.

The Government of India responded that such warning messages are normally sent to many people across the world and that an investigation would be conducted. This clearly indicates that the government is making attempts to hush up the matter. Recent examples of activists being spied on by the government raises serious questions.

In 2021, an investigative report found that ‘Pegasus’ – a spy software – was used in India against at least 1,000 Indian phone numbers, belonging to prominent leaders of the opposition, an opposition election strategist, many editors and reporters, a sitting Supreme Court judge, an Election Commissioner, human rights defenders and activists, as well as the woman who filed a complaint of sexual harassment against the Chief Justice of India. We know that Pegasus was illegally planted on the electronic devices of those who have been imprisoned in the Bhima Koregaon case, to plant evidence against them. Considering that Pegasus is only sold to governments with clearance from the Israeli government, the Central Government has much to answer to the people. 

Com. Dipankar noted that these recent hack-alerts, raids in Rajasthan, summons to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, etc., shows that elections in Amritkaal has turned into a no-holds-barred war by the rattled Modi regime!