Government faces accusations of state-sponsored snooping on Opposition leaders' phones

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Apple, which said that their phones may 'face a state-sponsored hacking attempt.'

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, Kumari Selja and TS Singh Deo and some others posted copies of the alert on social media. Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Shiv Sena Thackeray group MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi too made similar charges.

Yechury and Chaturvedi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to demand a probe into the issue.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said his colleague KC Venugopal and three of his staff members too received similar alerts and alleged the government was 'unleashing snooping agencies' on Opposition leaders for their attack on the Adani Group.

Selja, Congress point person on strategies and management for the Chhattisgarh elections, while sharing on X the alert said: «I got a warning from Apple on my phone that such attacks have become common. The government is so scared that it is no longer hesitating even to enter into low level politics.

These attacks, sponsored by the central government cannot stop the pace and good intentions of our works. We belong to the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi, and we are not afraid of such petty actions of the government.» Deo, who is Chhattisgarh's deputy chief minister said he received a similar alert.

«Received from an Apple ID, threat-notifications@apple.com, which I have verified.

Authenticity confirmed. Glad to keep underemployed officials busy at the expenses of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do?» Congress parliamentarian Tharoor posted on X.

In his letter to Modi, with a copy of the alert attached, Yechury said it «constitutes a gross