Hyderabad: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has denied allegations by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that the former Andhra Pradesh government led by Chandrababu Naidu had bought Pegasus spy software. TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh said the Naidu government had not bought the Pegasus software. He said the government was not involved in any illegal activities.

It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Lokesh also alleged that if Mamata Banerjee had made such a statement, they would have spread false information.

Lokesh, who was the IT minister in the Naidu government, said Pegasus had offered software to the state but was turned down. Lokesh also said that in a RTI reply received from the office of DGP Gautam Sawang in August 2021, it was clear that the Andhra Pradesh government had not purchased the Pegasus software.

Mamata Banerjee had revealed in the Bengal Legislative Assembly that Pegasus had offered spy software to her government. Mamata Banerjee said the offer was rejected as it did not allow people to intrude on their privacy. The Trinamool leader had alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government had Pegasus software during the time of Chandrababu Naidu.