NEW DELHI:

(CA) whistleblower

said the controversial data analytics firm "worked extensively" in India, and named

as its client while testifying before the UK Parliament today.

However, personal data protection expert Paul-Olivier Dehaye, who was also giving evidence before British lawmakers, revealed that an Indian billionaire paid SCL Group, CA's parent company, to ensure that Congress lost the elections.

Deposing before the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS), Dehaye claimed the SCL Group's former Head of Elections Dan Muresan was "pretending to work for one party but actually paid underhand by someone else". This was partly corroborated by Wylie, who said Muresan had been working in India before he died in Kenya under mysterious circumstances.

When prodded by Labour MP Paul Farrelly about CA's role in India, Wylie confirmed that the UK-based CA has offices and employees in the country and offered to hand over relevant "documentation" to the Parliamentary committee investigating the matter.

"They (Cambridge Analytica) worked extensively in India. They have an office in India... I believe their client was Congress but I know that they have done all kinds of projects. I don't remember a national project but I know regionally. India's so big that one state can be as big as Britain. But they do have offices there, they do have staff," Wylie said under oath.

Wylie, a data analytics expert and formerly an employee at Cambridge Analytica, has alleged that the political consultancy firm used personal information harvested from more than 50 million

users to influence elections.

Wylie, 28,

claims the data was sold to CA, which then used it to psychologically profile people and deliver material in favour of Donald Trump during the 2016 US presidential elections. He also criticised CA for running campaigns in "struggling democracies", which he called "an example of what modern-day colonialism looks like".

"You have a wealthy company from a developed nation going into an economy or democracy that's still struggling to get its feet on the ground - and taking advantage of that to profit from that," he told MPs.

Testimony sparks fresh round of BJP-Congress spat

The

immediately latched on to the whistleblower's testimony and said the Congress party stood "exposed" and its president Rahul Gandhi should immediately apologise for attempting to manipulate elections.

"The whistleblower has publicly confirmed that the Congress was indeed their client. Rahul Gandhi had been trying to divert attention. Today, he stands exposed. The Congress and Rahul Gandhi must apologise to the nation," Union Law minister

told reporters.

Prasad also dismissed the Congress' allegation that the BJP had used the firm's services, calling it a "pack of lies".

Minutes later, the Congress issued a statement categorically denying it employed the data firm, and went on to dare the BJP-led government to launch an investigation into the matter.

"It is all false. Why is India's perpetually lying Law Minister throwing allegations in the media, he is in power why doesn't he show all proof and then register an FIR. We challenge you. They fear they will be exposed if they probe," said Congress communications-in charge Randeep Surjewala.

Congress has strongly refuted the charge that it availed the services of CA, instead accusing the ruling BJP of hiring the firm to orchestrate its poll campaigns in several states in 2010 and during the Lok Sabha election in 2014. BJP countered the allegations and said the firm in question was founded in 2013 and could not have worked with either party in 2010.

(With PTI inputs)