PM Modi, HM Amit Shah have 'Hit Soul of India's democracy by using Pegasus': Rahul Gandhi

Slamming the government at the Centre on Wednesday over the Pegasus snooping row, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have “hit soul of India’s democracy by using Pegasus against India, its institutions”.

Addressing the media, Rahul Gandhi said, "The entire opposition is here... our voice is being curtailed in Parliament."

He said that we are only asking if the Pegasus software was bought and if it was used against certain persons in India.

"The government has said no discussion... Why shouldn't we have a discussion on the floor of the House? (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi has put a weapon (Pegasus) and is snooping on our phones," he alleged.

His remarks came after a meeting of 14 opposition parties earlier in the day to chalk out a strategy to take on the government over the Pegasus tapping issue, which has snowballed into a massive political row.

Besides Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the government over the Pegasus spyware row, calling the current situation more serious than the Emergency.

"What is Pegasus? It’s a high-loaded virus. Our safety and security are at risk. Nobody has freedom," TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said in Delhi, where she met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday.

"My phone is hacked. Abhishek’s (Banerjee) phone was already hacked. Also Prashant Kishore. If you hack one phone, you can hack so many phones," Mamata Banerjee said, adding that it was a serious matter where life, property and security were involved.