Pegasus: Centre had asked K’taka to look into Siddaramaiah’s plea

Days before the Supreme Court set up a committee to look into allegations of illegal surveillance on Pegasus spyware, the Centre had asked Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar to “take action” on a petition by Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah.

In July, Siddaramaiah had written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking an inquiry into “illegal spying and surveillance” through the Israeli Pegasus spyware. This was forwarded to the Union Home Ministry in September.

In a letter to Kumar dated October 25, the ministry stated: “Since ‘police’ and ‘public order’ are state subjects under the seventh schedule to the Constitution of India, it is the responsibility of the concerned state government to prevent, detect,