The difficult question BJP led Modi government to face in the case of pegasus snoopingate are multifold observes political pundits
With a license fee of seven to eight million Dollars or Rs 60 Crore for conducting surveillance on 50 phones..
How much money has been paid by the Government to the Israeli company NSO since 2016 and the amount paid if disclosed will give some indication of how many phones were tapped
Are only central agencies like IB, RAW, NIA, ED etc. using Pegasus or are state police also paying for such surveillance..
If so Which agency or agencies have been entrusted to conduct the surveillance
Is the amount paid to NSO unaudited on the ground of national security
What is the quantum of unaudited secret funds available with central agencies and the state police and also
By how much have they increased since 2014
How many terrorists and criminals have been caught in the last three years by using Pegasus spyware
If so Have details of surveillance been shared with courts.. Do they form a part of the charge sheet..
Then comes the checks and balances
Who is authorized to vet the operation of Pegasus
Who initiates the proposals..
Who or which body screens them..
If being he case Why cannot such agencies be made accountable to the Parliament or a Parliamentary Committee
Screening and sifting data from the surveillance of even 50 phones will necessarily involve a large number of people to go through the data manually.
Being the case has this exercise been outsourced by the Government to private agencies
Have private business interests gained access to information collected through surveillance of ministers, bureaucrats and judges
What are the safeguards put in place and how can the Government be certain that such data have not compromised the Government or the Judiciary
And finally Why is the Cyber Security Policy, which the Prime Minister had promised ‘soon’ on the Independence Day last year, still stuck with the cabinet
