Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal on Saturday put out a notice from Apple informing him that a “targeted mercenary spyware attack” had been detected against his iPhone. Earlier this week, Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, had also gone public with a similar notice.

In a post on X, Mr. Venugopal, while putting out the notice, said that the Opposition would “oppose this blatantly unconstitutional act and breach of our privacy tooth and nail”. “Thank You PM Modi ji for sending your favourite malicious spyware on my phone also! Apple has been kind enough to intimate me about this special present of yours!” he wrote.

The threat notification sent to him highlighted that he was sent a similar notification on October 30, 2023, and this was another attack against his device.

“Let’s be clear, the Modi government is acting in a criminal and unconstitutional manner, going after political opponents and invading their privacy in this manner. The message of the Lok Sabha elections was that the people reject any attack on the Constitution and the BJP’s fascist agenda,” Mr. Venugopal said.

Besides Ms. Mufti, Samruddha Bharat Foundation founder Pushparaj Deshpande also posted a similar notification from Apple on July 10. The foundation works closely with the Congress.

 In October 2023, such notifications were sent to multiple members of the Opposition, including Congress’s Shashi Tharoor, Pawan Khera and Supriya Shrinate, Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Raghav Chadha, and Sitaram Yechury from the Communist Party of India (Marxist). All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)’s Asaduddin Owaisi was also notified last year.