Rahul Gandhi Alleges Phone Tapping, Dares PM Modi to Debate
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was tapping his phone and challenged him to a one-on-one public debate, The Indian Express reported. Speaking during an "Ask Me Anything" session on Instagram, Gandhi held up his phone and claimed it held proof against Modi, though he presented no technical evidence during the session, NDTV reported. Gandhi said the proof was inside his phone, adding that a one-on-one debate would show "who is controlled by foreign powers, who is an anti-national and since when he has been an anti-national," according to The Indian Express.
Debate Challenge and Parliament Dispute
Gandhi claimed a direct debate would end Modi's political career and alleged he was not permitted to speak in Parliament, where he said his microphone was switched off, The Indian Express reported. Gandhi listed topics he said he was barred from raising, including farm bills, vote chori, SIR, China, Gen Naravane's book, and Epstein, and said he would accept Adani Group chair Gautam Adani or RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as judge, The Indian Express noted. NDTV reported that Friday marked Gandhi's seventh public debate challenge to Modi in 12 days, and recalled that Gandhi had previously alleged Pegasus spyware tapping in 2023, which the Centre refuted. In August 2022, the Supreme Court reported that an expert committee probing Pegasus allegations found some malware on five of the 29 phones it examined, though it was not clear whether the malware was Pegasus.
In a separate video posted on X, Gandhi accused Modi of needing a script and suggested the Prime Minister had stopped attacking him out of pressure, The Times of India reported. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav backed Gandhi's surveillance concern, saying that in the age of artificial intelligence modern technology cannot be trusted, according to The Times of India.
BJP Leadership Rejects Allegations
Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar also rejected the claim, saying Gandhi "must get his head examined" and that "nobody is bothered tapping his phone," The Times of India reported. NDTV and The Times of India noted that BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, had earlier urged Gandhi to raise his arguments in Parliament rather than demanding an outside venue. BJP spokesperson Mr. Sinha dismissed Rahul Gandhi's phone-tapping claim as 'hit-and-run politics' and stated Gandhi had failed to return with evidence after President Droupadi Murmu asked for proof on 'vote chori' five weeks earlier, according to The Hindu.