Pegasus allegations: Phone tapping claims not new to K’taka politics

A political row may have erupted in the state after the Congress on Tuesday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre of snooping into phones of leaders in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2019 which resulted in the toppling of the government, but snooping in Karnataka politics is not new.

The accusations were made after, an online news portal, The Wire, on Tuesday reported that phone numbers of former Congress deputy CM G Parameshwara, and personal secretaries of former CMs HD Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah were selected in 2019 as possible targets of Pegasus spyware, manufactured by Israeli firm NSO group.