New Delhi: Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message on the eve of 30 years of ties between India and Israel amid the latest row over the Pegasus controversy coming close on the wheels of the Budget session.
Taking to Twitter, the Rajya Sabha MP wrote, “The PM said that it is the best time to set new goals in the India-Israel relationship. Of course, it is the best time to ask Israel if they have any advanced version of the Pegasus spyware. The last deal was for $2 billion. India can do better this time. If we get more sophisticated spyware ahead of the 2024 elections, we can give them even $4 billion.”
The last deal was for $2 billion. India can do better this time. If we get more sophisticated spyware ahead of the 2024 elections, we can give them even $4 billion
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) January 30, 2022
Chidambaram urged the PM to ask Israel if the latter has any advanced version of the Pegasus spyware that was bought by the Modi government as a part of $2-billion deal with Israel for military hardware and intelligence tools in 2017, as reported by the News York Times.
On Saturday, Modi issued a special video message, marking 30 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. “The history of the relationship between our countries is very old. There has been a strong relationship between the people of India and Israel for centuries,” the Prime Minister said.
