The Congress and the Left parties on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court order of setting up an expert committee on the Pegasus spyware issue and said it has negated alleged attempts of the Government to evade and divert attention in the name of national security.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said he was happy with the Supreme Court’s decision to order an independent probe into the Pegasus issue and it was a “big step” towards getting to “the truth”. “I hope they (Supreme Court) will do their job and provide justice.

“But this is a deeper problem. If the Prime Minister is using this as a personal tool…if the data is arriving on the Prime Minister’s desk, then it is totally criminal…

“We will follow it up,” Rahul said, while claiming that the government of Karnataka “was toppled using Pegasus spyware”.

Attacking the Government, the CPM said the “Government had refused to give a categorical answer to the Supreme Court whether any State agency used Pegasus spyware or not.”

Rahul said the Congress would continue to raise the issue in Parliament seeking answers from the government as tapping of constitutional functionaries and opposition leaders was a “criminal act” and “an illegal action”.

He added that only the Prime Minister or the Home Minister could have authorised tapping of phones using the Pegasus software.

Attacking further on the issue y Rahul said the Congress had been asking the Government three questions—who had authorised the use of Pegasus spyware, who all were targeted, and whether any other country was also in possession of the Pegasus data. But the government has not given a reply.

“Pegasus is an attempt to crush Indian democracy. It is an attempt to make sure that the vibrancy of the democracy, the conversations that take place in a democracy are crushed and people are controlled,” he said.

“There is the institution of Parliament where we will raise this again and we will try to have a debate in Parliament.

“I am pretty sure that the BJP will not like that debate. So, they will make sure that that debate is stalled. But we will try to hold that debate,” he said.