Apple snooping row: BJP's Amit Malviya hits back at Chidambaram

NEW DELHI: BJP on Wednesday hit back at the former Union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram after he questioned it over the alleged phone hacking of several opposition leaders reminding him of his tenure as the Union Home Minister when office of the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was bugged.

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said, “You were the Home Minister when former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s office was bugged. Does this ring a bell, Mr Chidambaram?”

He said responding to Chidambaram, while attaching a news report to back his claims.

His remarks came after Chidambaram on Wednesday slammed the BJP Government at the Centre over the alleged state-sponsored hackers targeting the mobile phones of the Opposition leaders, saying that after the Pegasus mystery which has not been resolved till date, the finger of suspicion points to a government agency and at the moment it is only a suspicion.

In a post on X, Chidambaram slammed the government and said, “It is undeniable that hundreds of Opposition leaders got an alert from Apple of a state-sponsored attempt to compromise their phones.”

“Why only Opposition leaders? Who will be interested in compromising the phones of Opposition leaders? After the Pegasus mystery, (not resolved until this date), the finger of suspicion points to a government agency. At the moment it is only a suspicion,” he added.

His remarks came a day after a major row erupted on Tuesday when several Opposition MPs and leaders claimed to have received a notification from Apple stating that there was an attempt to compromise their devices by “state-sponsored attackers.”