Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 4: Even as the government advised the opposition parties not to turn Parliament into “fish market,” the combined opposition continued to disrupt the House proceedings pressing the demand for a debate into the alleged Israeli spyware Pegasus issue.
The Supreme Court too is seized with the matter and is scheduled to hear a clutch of petitions on the issue on Thursday, most of them being asking the court to order an investigation into the Pegasus issue.
After more than a dozen opposition leaders held a breakfast meeting at the invitation of the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, 14 opposition parties on Wednesday issued a joint statement demanding a discussion on the Pegasus issue in parliament followed by a reply from the home minister.
Claiming that the matter has assumed “national security dimensions,” the statement termed the Narendra Modi government “arrogant” and “obdurate” for its continued refusal to listen to the opposition demand. The statement urged the government to “respect parliamentary democracy and accept the demand for discussion.”
“It is unfortunate that the government has unleashed a misleading campaign to malign the combined opposition and blaming it for the continued disruption in parliament,” read the joint statement from the opposition.
“The responsibility for the deadlock lies squarely at the doorsteps of the government, which remains arrogant and obdurate and refuses to accept the opposition’s demand for an informed debate in both the houses,” statement added.
The explosive reports by a consortium of global media houses last month, alleging that a host of opposition politicians, journalists and others were targets of the Israeli military grade spyware Pegasus — has erupted into a huge political flashpoint.
The government has come under pressure after the software vendor NSO said its clients are only vetted governments and their agencies. The opposition is up in arms, demanding a discussion in parliament.
The government has so far issued a statement saying no illegal surveillance has been undertaken and so far avoided any further discussion on the issue inside or outside Parliament. But the Opposition is adamant and the current monsoon session has been hugely disrupted as the opposition is pressing its demand.
Meanwhile, the union minister and the BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi slammed Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien for his tweet comparing fast passage of bills in Parliament without any discussion with making of “papri chaat.” Naqvi said it was “part of a conspiracy to malign Parliament’s dignity.”
“If he’s allergic to ‘chaat-papri’, he can have fish curry. But don’t turn Parliament into fish market. Unfortunately, the manner in which work is being done with conspiracy to malign Parliament’s dignity, was never seen before,” Naqvi said..
“If you malign the dignity of Parliament, such activities are neither in their interest nor ours. It is not even in the interest of Parliament traditions,” he added.
The tweet had earned the Prime Minister’s ire too at the BJP parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday. Modi deprecated the conduct of the opposition in Parliament, accusing them of insulting the legislature and the Constitution.
Referring to passage of bills in Parliament, the TMC leader had said on Twitter, “In the first 10 days, Modi-Shah rushed through and passed 12 Bills at an average time of UNDER SEVEN MINUTES per Bill…Passing legislation or making papri chaat!”
In response to Naqvi’s criticism, an unfazed O’Brien said his intention was to use a cultural idiom to connect with the people over the serious issue and asked if the PM would be happier if he used the word “dhokla” instead, referring to a snack popular in Modi’s home state Gujarat..
He stressed that the real issue was the hurried passing of bills in both the Houses without any discussions and even went on to say that the prime minister’s reaction showed that the “TMC is setting the agenda.”
Parliament proceedings have descended into chaos since the monsoon session commenced on July 19 with the opposition sticking to their demand on a discussion on the potential use of spyware against politicians, journalists, and activists and the farmers’ issues. While the opposition is insisting on a structured debate on the alleged snooping in the presence of Modi or home minister Amit Shah, the government has maintained that it is a non-issue.