Nitish Kumar favours inquiry into Pegasus controversy

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday favoured a thorough inquiry into allegations of phone tapping with the help of Pegasus spyware which has led to a logjam in Parliament.

Kumar, whose JD(U) is an ally of the BJP at the Centre as well as in the state, however, qualified his statement with the remark "I know of this controversy only from whatever I have read about it in the newspapers".

"It is a known fact that modern technology can be put to sinister uses. If there have been any attempts to intercept people's telephonic conversations, it would be better to get the matter probed for suitable action", he told reporters in Patna on the sidelines of his weekly public interaction programme.

Asked about the opposition's demand that the matter be probed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, Kumar, who has been a former Union minister himself, said "I cannot comment on what is taking place on the floor of the Parliament".

"But those who have any concrete information with regard to such alleged snooping, must share the same with the government. I am sure the issue will be squarely addressed", he added.

Opposition parties have been aggressively protesting over Pegasus snooping case in Lok Sabha as well as in Rajya Sabha, crippling functioning of both houses of Parliament.

Responding to his party colleague Upendra Kushwaha's statement that the Bihar Chief Minister was a "Prime Minister material", Kumar who was at one point seen as a "secular alternative" to the Narendra Modi juggernaut said "I have no such aspirations. I wish to serve Bihar for as long as I can".