Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Friday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for raking up the Pegasus snooping issue again.

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Talking to the media in New Delhi, Thakur said Rahul was deliberately raising a hue and cry on foreign soil over the issue and defaming India. “We can understand his hatred towards the prime minister, but the conspiracy to malign the country on foreign soil with the help of foreign friends raises questions on the agenda of the Congress,” he said.

He added that respect for India has increased across the world under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

Thakur said yesterday’s Assembly election results in the northeast showed that the Congress has been wiped out once again. He alleged that the Opposition party was unable to accept the people’s mandate. ”Once again, the Congress lost in the elections but their bankruptcy was evident when they lost no opportunity to malign India from foreign soil,” he said.

He said Rahul should have at least listened to what Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had to say about Prime Minister Modi. “She said PM Modi has emerged as a major leader. Rahul and the Congress are unable to accept repeated electoral setbacks,” Thakur said.