The Andhra Pradesh government has been using spyware for telephone tapping and other purposes but only to keep a tab on anti-social elements, the ruling YSR Congress said on Tuesday, March 22. Revealing that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government has been using the spyware, YSRC MLA and spokesman G Amarnath told reporters that it was being done only for the purposes of state security and not for any political means.
"If you ask if your government is using it, yes, in the interest of the state and security. Not to snoop on (Leader of Opposition) Chandrababu Naidu and listen to his private conversations," Amarnath said. There are certain rules and regulations and terms and conditions for the use of spyware. Every state government in the country uses phone tapping and other equipment and software to check anti-social elements or to protect state security, the MLA claimed.
The spyware, he pointed out, should be used by the government only on grounds of security needs and not for political purposes. "We are condemning the use of the software for other purposes to curb the privacy of individuals," Amarnath added, referring to the alleged use of spyware by the previous government in the state.
The YSRC's revelation came in the backdrop of an ongoing row in Andhra Pradesh over the Pegasus spyware, with the ruling Jagan Mohan Reddy dispensation claiming that the previous Chandrababu Naidu government purchased the software by Israeli company NSO Group.
Citing the claim purportedly made by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last week that the previous TDP government purchased Pegasus spyware, the YSRC government decided to constitute a Legislature Committee to probe the issue.
Former chief of state intelligence A B Venkateswara Rao also got caught in the controversy as it was alleged that he had bought the Pegasus spyware when TDP was in power. The opposition TDP hit back at the ruling party asserting that no such purchase was ever made. Venkateswara Rao also defended himself saying no spyware was purchased when he was the Intelligence chief.