Govt indulging in distraction politics on Adani issue: Rahul on Apple alert
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that people in his office, several party and other opposition leaders have been sent a warning by Apple of state-sponsored attackers targeting their phone, and alleged that as soon as the Adani issue is touched, probe agencies and snooping are deployed.
He also alleged that the government was indulging in "distraction politics" on the Adani issue.
During a press conference, Gandhi showed a copy of the warning e-mail received by several opposition leaders from Apple phone manufacturer about "state-sponsored attackers trying to compromise" their phone.
He said party leaders such as K C Venugopal, Pawan Khera, Supriya Shrinate and several other opposition leaders have got the Apple warning.
"We are not scared. You can do as much (phone) tapping as you want, I don't care. If you want to take my phone, I will give it to you..," he said.
"The hierarchy in the country is No. 1 Adani, no. 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and no. 3 Amit Shah," he alleged.
Narrating an old tale to assert his point, Gandhi said there used to be a king in India against whom people stood up and opposition was attacking him but he was like teflon and nothing used to affect him.
"After a few years, opposition people went to a rishi and said 'we keep attacking the king, people are against him but nothing happens. Rishi said the king's soul is not with him, there is a parrot in a small cottage and his soul is in that parrot," Gandhi said.
"Narendra Modi's soul is with Adani. Truth is power is in the hands of someone else. As soon as Adani is touched, intelligence agencies snooping are deployed," he said.
"Adani cannot escape, we have surrounded him. Distraction politics is taking place," he said
Some opposition leaders on Tuesday claimed to have received messages from Apple warning them of "state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise" their iPhones and posted the purported screenshots on their X handles.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Trinamool Congress' Mahua Moitra, Aam Aadmi Party's Raghav Chadha, Congress' Shashi Tharoor and his party's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera shared the message from Apple on X. CPI(M)general secretary Sitaram Yechury also received a similar message.
PTI reached out to Apple for comments on the matter but there was no immediate response.
"Received text and email from Apple warning me that the government trying to hack into my phone and email. @HMOIndia -- get a life. Adani and PMO bullies - your fear makes me pity you," Moitra said sharing the screenshots.
The message shared by the MPs stated, "ALERT: State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone".
"Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID. These attackers are likely targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do. If your device is compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your sensitive data, communications, or even the camera and microphone. While it's possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously," it stated.
Responding to the opposition leaders, BJP's Amit Malviya said in a post on X, "Usual suspects raising a storm over state sponsored' attack and pretending to be martyrs is all good But this hullabaloo, in all probability, like in the past, will end up as damp squib!
"Why not wait for Apple to clarify? Or is it too much to let go an opportunity to outrage?"
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Rupee strengthens past 90/USD level in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 24 paise to 89.96 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, supported by corporate dollar inflows and easing crude oil prices.
Forex traders said the gain in the USD/INR pair follows the rupee’s string of record lows in recent weeks on likely intervention from the Reserve Bank of India.
Moreover, crude oil prices hovering around USD 59 per barrel level supported market sentiment.
ALSO READ:Rupee trades in narrow range against US dollar in early trade
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.19 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 89.96 against the US dollar, registering a gain of 24 paise over its previous close.
In initial trade it also touched 90.22 against the American currency. On Thursday, the rupee appreciated 18 paise against the US dollar to close at 90.20 against the greenback.
The rupee sank to a fresh record low, breaching the 91-a-dollar mark for the first time on Tuesday.
"Since the speculators are out of the market the buying of US dollar syndrome has come down a bit though intra-day we could see spikes," said Anil Kumar Bhansali Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
The US CPI came lower than expected but was also due to non-collection of sufficient data and therefore, the next month’s CPI becomes more important, Bhansali said, adding that "Rupee remains in a range of 90-90.50".
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 98.46.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.27 per cent at USD 59.66 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex climbed 375.98 points to 84,857.79, while the Nifty was up 110.60 points to 25,934.15.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 595.78 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal on Thursday said he is not concerned about the rupee at all, arguing that even China and Japan witnessed exchange rate weaknesses during their high growth phases.
Speaking at 'Times Network's India Economic Conclave 2025', Sanyal said since the 90s, the rupee has mostly been allowed to find its own level, but the RBI uses its reserves to intervene in either direction to stop excessive volatility.
"I am not concerned about the rupee at all... Let me say that the rupee and its current weakness should not be necessarily conflated with some economic worry, because historically, if you go over time, you will see that economies that are in their high growth phase very often go through a phase of exchange rate weakness," he said.
