Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday, 3 August, backed the demand for an investigation into the Pegasus Project reports, saying that "a probe should be done".
"There has been talk of telephone tapping for so many days... The issue is being raised in parliament and there are news reports in the media... So definitely it should discussed and looked into... the whole thing should be made public," CM Kumar told reporters.
With regards to such allegations, each claim should be seen and steps should be taken accordingly, he added.
"Such things should not be done to disturb and harass people," he said, adding, that the whole truth should come out into public knowledge.
Kumar is the first BJP ally to add his voice to the Opposition's demand for a probe into the Pegasus snooping row.
The Pegasus-spyware controversy surfaced a day before the start of the Monsoon session with the publication of the first series of reports.
Since then, multiple reports have sought to show how Opposition leaders, activists, journalists, and even current ministers may have been potential targets of surveillance using Israeli spying software Pegasus in the past.
Reports revealed that over 300 Indian journalists, activists, Opposition leaders, sitting ministers, and businessmen were spied on using the Israeli spyware.
Consequently, the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Parliament has seen continuous protests by the Opposition over the Pegasus spyware controversy, leading to disruptions and adjournments of both the Houses.
While there has been no discussion on the issue in Parliament, the government has said that no illegal surveillance has been done by them.
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