Amid high drama in the Parliament over the Pegasus report, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday requested the Centre to ban the functioning of Amnesty International in the country.
"I request Govt of India to ban the functioning of Amnesty International in the country. I feel the Congress party should join hands with the government in criticising Amnesty International. They can't defame our country like this all the time," said Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Pegasus report.
"They (some media outlets) said these (persons) are potential targets but can't confirm if their privacy was compromised. What kind of journalism is this? Amnesty International & certain other international groups are hell-bent to defame India's democracy and leadership," Sarma said.
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"Various Left-wing organisations throughout the world, including Amnesty International, are part of the conspiracy," Sarma said while addressing a press conference.
"It is clear that they want to defame India's democracy. I demand that activities of Amnesty International be immediately banned within India," he said.
There was evidence earlier, but with this recent incident, it is now clear that Amnesty can go to any extend to defame India's democratic fabric, Sarma claimed.
The controversy erupted after a report was published in several global media consortium to an investigation conducted by Paris-based media non-profit organisation Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International into a leaked list of more than 50,000 phone numbers from across the world that are believed to have been the target of surveillance through Pegasus software of Israeli surveillance company NSO Group.
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