New Delhi: The Centre on Sunday dismissed reports of alleged surveillance of about 40 Indian journalists by an unidentified agency using Pegasus software.

The government called the unwarranted report as an attempt to malign the democracy and institutions and also likened it to a fishing expedition based on conjectures and exaggerations.

“The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated it whatsoever,” Centre said in a detailed statement.

It said that similar claims were made in the past regarding use of Pegasus on WhatsApp by the government. Those reports had no factual basis and were categorically denied by all parties, including WhatsApp in the Indian Supreme Court.

Government of India’s response to inquiries on the ‘Pegasus Project’ media report. pic.twitter.com/F4AxPZ8876

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2021

Coming down hard on the international publication for trying to tarnish the image of Modi government, the Centre said that it looks bereft of facts and also founded with a pre-conceived conclusions.

“It seems you are trying to play the role of investigator, prosecutor and jury,” the Centre said.

40 Indian journalists on list of Pegasus snooping target

Phone numbers of about 40 Indian journalists were on potential surveillance target list and a couple of them were snooped on successfully by Pegasus spyware, a leading portal reported today.

According to report, the journalists from couple of leading dailies including Hindustan Times, India Today, Network18, Indian Express and The Hindu were being snooped on by an unidentified agency using Pegasus software.

According to Wire’s report, most of the names were targeted between 2018 and 2019, in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections.

When the Pegasus allegations emerged in 2019, then Union IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had told Parliament that no “unauthorised” use of Pegasus had been made in India by government agencies.