Amid the WhatsApp snooping controversy, Congress on Sunday targeted the Modi government alleging that the government and its agencies bought the spyware 'Pegasus.'

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"A perusal of the website of the Israeli firm NSO Group reflects that 'Pegasus' spyware and all NSO products are exclusively sold to the government only," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said at a press conference.

He said the Israeli firm has written to 'Citizen Lab' of Munk School of the University of Toronto, that their "product is licensed to government and law enforcement agencies for the sole purpose of investing and preventing crime and terror."

"It is, thus, clear that the government of India and its agencies bought the spyware. It could neither be bought nor deployed by any private operator," he said.

Launching an attack the government, Surjewala said that it now stands exposed before the country for its role in the illegal and unconstitutional surveillance racket. He also said that PM Modi needs to answer who in the Government of India bought and used the spyware 'Pegasus' from the Israeli firm NSO.

Surjewala also claimed that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was among the individuals whose phone was hacked in the WhatsApp spyware fiasco.

"When WhatsApp sent messages to all those whose phones were hacked, one such message was also received by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra," he said.

Earlier, the Facebook-owned company, WhatsApp had informed the Indian authorities that 121 Indians were snooped on by the Israeli spyware 'Pegasus,' breaching their phones through the message sharing service on the last week of September.

WhatsApp has already filed a case against the Israeli firm - NSO Group - at a US Federal Court alleging the malicious cyberattacks with the spyware 'Pegasus', claiming the firm installed spyware on users' phones and targeted human rights defenders, journalists, political dissidents, diplomats and government officials.

WhatsApp accused the NSO Group of sending malware to roughly 1,400 mobile phones for ''surveillance.''

The Israeli firm, which makes software for surveillance, has rejected these allegations.