According to the Indian Express’ report, a Shenzhen-based company named Zhenhua Data Information Technology Co. Limited has been assigned with monitoring over 10,000 prominent citizens including President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and CJI Sharad Bobde.
An investigative report by the Indian Express revealed that the Chinese Communist Party is keeping an eye over 10,000 Indian individuals and organisations in its global database of “foreign targets”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ramnath Kovind, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Union ministers like Rajnath Singh and Nirmala Sitharaman, and at least 15 former Chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force were some of the prominent names which are being spied on.
The Indian government, reacting to the report, said it is not surprised as it was aware of data mining by Chinese companies and its misuse by Chinese agencies.
An official, speaking to CNN-News 18, said, “The decision to ban Chinese apps was taken because of this misuse. Indian agencies flagged how common Indians unknowingly were contributing to the data bank of Chinese companies, which in turn was being shared with the Chinese Communist Party and agencies.”
Meanwhile, this comes at a time when India and China have been locked in a conflict in eastern Ladakh for the last four months. China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the Southern Bank of Pangong lake when the two sides were engaged in diplomatic and military talks to resolve the festering border row, which led to escalation.
According to the Indian Express’ report, a Shenzhen-based company named Zhenhua Data Information Technology Co. Limited has been assigned with monitoring over 10,000 prominent citizens including President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and CJI Sharad Bobde.
Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and their families, Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee, Ashok Gehlot and Amarinder Singh to Uddhav Thackeray, Naveen Patnaik and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Cabinet Ministers Rajnath Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani, and Piyush Goyal, Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Singh Rawat and at least 15 former Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force are also some of the people being spied on, the report said.
The report also suggested that bureaucrats in key positions, judges, scientists and academicians, journalists, actors and sportspersons, religious figures, and activists are also among the people China considers a “foreign target”.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
