Centre refers Siddaramaiah's plaint on Pegasus spyware to Karnataka govt
Bengaluru, Nov 6: The Ministry of Home Affairs has referred the matter relating to former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's complaint to investigate the alleged spying and surveillance through Pegasus spyware to the Karnataka government saying that police and public order are state subjects.
The leader of opposition in the Karnataka Assembly petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind through Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot seeking a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court on "illegal" spying and surveillance through Pegasus on July 22 after staging a demonstration in the city.
Congress party leaders later that day took out a march to the Raj Bhavan and submitted his plea to Gehlot, which was addressed to President Kovind.
The petition was forwarded by the President's Secretariat to the Home Ministry, which recently sent a letter to the Karnataka Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar marking a copy to Siddaramaiah.
The ministry said, "Since 'police' and 'public order' are state subjects under the seventh schedule to the Constitution of India, it is the responsibility of the concerned state government to prevent, detect, register and investigate crime and prosecute the criminals involved through the machinery of its own law enforcement agencies, and hence, you may take action on the representation, as deemed appropriate."
Sources close to Siddaramaiah said that he may raise an objection over the letter as the matter pertains to 'Centre and state subject', which only Centre has to address.
The senior Congress leader in his letter to the President on July 22 said people of the country are shocked and surprised to notice on July 18, 2021 that series of news reports in publications around the world revealed that more than 1,000 Indian mobile numbers of various personalities were targeted for surveillance including those of opposition party leaders, union ministers, supreme court judges, journalists, election commission members and other dignified and important persons of the country by using the Pegasus spyware of NSO Group of Israeli company.
"Pegasus Spyware is a commercial company, which works on paid contracts. The questions arise on who paid them for the 'Indian Operation'. If it is not the Government of India, then who it is?" Siddaramaiah wrote in his letter to the President.
Quoting media reports, he said since 2019, more particularly in the month of June and July of that year, he himself, then Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, then Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and other political leaders' numbers were spied upon and kept under surveillance by tapping the phones of the leaders and their personal staff.
"The BJP leadership had engineered to resign 17 MLAs in the name and style of 'Operation Kamala' (Operation Lotus). Similarly the BJP leadership might have tapped the phones of leaders from Madhya Pradesh and other state governments and toppled the said state governments," Siddaramaiah alleged.
In his letter, he urged the President to order a judicial probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge on illegal spying and surveillance in the interest of national security and to uphold the dignity and fundamental rights of the citizens of India.
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Indian men's team clinches inaugural Kho Kho World Cup title after women's victory
New Delhi: The Indian men's team beat Nepal 54-36 in the final to win the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup title here on Sunday.
The Indian men's team title came after the women's side were also crowned the champions after defeating Nepal in the final.
The Men in Blue dominated the final against Nepal with captain Pratik Waikar and tournament standout Ramji Kashyap leading from the front.
Attacking first, an exceptional sky dive by Ramji Kashyap got Nepal's Suraj Pujara. Suyash Gargate then touched Bharat Sahu to give India a great start with 10 points in just four minutes.
Sky dives were the name of the game for the Men in Blue, and this ensured a bright start for the side in Turn 1, preventing the Dream Run for their opponents. At the end of the turn, the scoreline was 26-0 in favour of the Indians.
In Turn 2, Nepal were not able to match India's levels but did prevent the home side from going on a single Dream Run.
Aditya Ganpule and skipper Pratik Waikar carried the team through this turn, and despite regular touches from the likes of Janak Chand and Suraj Pujara, India carried a 26-18 lead into the second half of the clash.
India were in their stride in Turn 3, displaying unwavering confidence throughout. Captain Pratik Waikar shone on the mat with multiple sky dives, and with the support of Ramji Kashyap, another star of the tournament.
Aditya Ganpule was also at his finest, and the home team's collective effort took the score to 54-18 entering the final turn of the match -- and the tournament.
Nepal fought hard in Turn 4 in their bid to come back against India. But the defenders, once again led by Pratik Waikar and Sachin Bhargo proved too strong. Mehul and Suman Barman were equally impressive.
India showcased their dominance throughout the tournament, beginning with convincing victories over Brazil, Peru and Bhutan in the group stages. Their momentum continued through the knockout rounds, where they outclassed Bangladesh in the quarterfinals before overcoming a strong South African side in the semifinals.
MEN'S & WOMEN'S KHO KHO TEAM WON THE WORLD CUP
— SPORTS ARENA🇮🇳 (@SportsArena1234) January 19, 2025
Men's Kho Kho Team won the title defeating 🇳🇵 54-36.
Women's Kho Kho Team clinched the World Cup title defeating 🇳🇵 74-40. pic.twitter.com/9ruJ79IKJ6
