'Linked to George Soros': BJP's Amit Malviya on opposition's iPhone hacking charge

BJP’s Amit Malviya has reignited the opposition's iPhone hacking notification wormhole. “Interesting thread that draws link between George Soros funded ‘Access Now’ and Apple notifications, supposedly received only by Opposition leaders. It is therefore no surprise that Rahul Gandhi dropped everything and rushed to hold a press conference. See the sinister plot here?” he wrote on X.

Malviya is the national convener of the IT cell of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

More than 10 opposition leaders and journalists reported on Monday that they had received "threat notifications" from Apple, cautioning them about potential "state-sponsored attacks."

The list of individuals who received these notifications includes Mahua Moitra, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Raghav Chadha, Shashi Tharoor, Akhilesh Yadav, Pawan Khera, Siddharth Varadarajan, Sriram Karri, and Samir Saran.

In response, the central government deemed the allegations as "vague" but pledged to conduct an investigation.

Meanwhile, former Finance Minister of India P Chidambaram also chimed in. "It is undeniable that hundreds of Opposition leaders got an alert from Apple of a state-sponsored attempt to compromise their phones. Why only Opposition leaders? Who will be interested in compromising the phones of Opposition leaders? After the Pegasus mystery (not resolved until this date), the finger of suspicion points to a government agency. At the moment it is only a suspicion," he wrote on X.

Earlier, Malviya took a swipe at Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, claiming that her own party had "abandoned" her amidst a significant controversy over allegations of receiving bribes in exchange for posing questions in Parliament. He further asserted that Trinamool's Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has maintained a conspicuous silence when her party's leaders face arrests.

Amit Malviya expressed, "It is not surprising that Mamata Banerjee has abandoned Mahua Moitra. She will defend no one else but Abhishek Banerjee, who is no less delinquent... Several TMC leaders are in jail on serious corruption and criminal charges, but Mamata Banerjee has maintained radio silence," on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Trinamool Congress refrained from commenting on the Mahua Moitra controversy yesterday. Kunal Ghosh, Trinamool's West Bengal General Secretary and spokesperson, stated, "The party has nothing to say on this issue. We think the person around whom this controversy is revolving is best suited to react to this." Party sources indicate that they aim to distance themselves from the controversy.

Mahua Moitra stands accused of receiving Rs 2 crore in cash from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for posing questions in Parliament.

Also Read Apple’s ‘State-Sponsored Attackers’ alert explained: What are these alerts and what should targeted users do?