Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has his phone tapped, and has again challenged the Prime Minister to a one-on-one public debate.
In a video posted by the Congress on X on Friday, Gandhi said the proof of his claims about foreign influence is on his phone, and that the Prime Minister knows it because he taps his phone. “The Prime Minister is aware of this because he has my phone tapped. The day he agrees to a face-to-face debate, everyone will learn who is under the control of foreign powers, who is anti-national, and how long they have been involved in anti-national activities,” he said.
Gandhi said he is ready for the debate at any time and any place, and that he would accept the Prime Minister’s conditions, including the use of a teleprompter and a judge of the Prime Minister’s choosing.
01. A long-running challenge
Gandhi has repeatedly challenged PM Modi to an open debate. He first raised the challenge on 2 November and repeated it on 6 November, saying he was ready to discuss allegations of anti-national activities and foreign influence in public.
The latest remarks come amid a political confrontation between the BJP and opposition parties over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier asked Gandhi to discuss the matter in Parliament.
02. BJP dismisses the claims
The BJP has swiftly rejected the allegations. Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar dismissed the claims as baseless and questioned the reasoning behind them.
Gandhi has not made public any details of the alleged evidence, and the phone-tapping allegation has not been independently confirmed. Years ago, Gandhi had also claimed his phone was bugged with the Israeli spyware Pegasus.
