New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien said that the party will not allow Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha sessions to run until the BJP government discusses and answers on Pegasus spyware issue. The statement comes after the focus of Opposition parties shifted to Pegasus snooping case from the issues of price hikes of fuel, farms law, COVID-19 spread and vaccinations.
On Tuesday, the Trinamool Congress MPs also staged a protest in front of the Gandhi Statue on the second day of the Monsoon session of Parliament against the Pegasus Spyware row. According to sources, after deciding to raise the issue of Pegasus snooping in both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, the TMC including other opposition parties are likely to demand an independent investigation into the Pegasus espionage issue and a Joint Parliament Committee (JPC).
Read:| Monsoon Session: Furore in both Houses over Pegasus row
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien along with Loksabha MP Mahua Moitra held a virtual press conference in the national capital. According to reports, Trinamool General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee is also on the list of 300 people whose mobile phones were hacked using the spyware which was allegedly procured by the Indian government from Israeli company NSO. Briefing reporters, Derek O'Brien informed that the TMC has also demanded the three farm laws be repealed immediately as the laws are being opposed by the farmers' unions who have been sitting in protest for over 8 months.
He also said that amid uproar by Opposition parties on the Pegasus issue, the TMC gave an adjournment of business notice in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha against the snooping and has demanded a discussion on the issue in both the houses. "We will not allow both the houses to run till our two demands are met immediately by this government. First is a discussion on the Pegasus Spyware issue and the second, this government must repeal the three contentious farm laws," said Derek O'Brien while addressing the media virtually.
Raising questions over the possible government spendings on the Pegasus snooping row, Derek O'Brien said that the Modi government collected nearly Rs 3,70,000 crores from the public through fuel price hikes. "Is this where the public money is being spent?" "This government collected Rs 3,70,000 crores from the public through fuel price hikes. Is this where (Pegasus) they have been spending taxpayers' money to snoop on the opposition leaders, journalists and officials," he added.
The Rajya Sabha MP claimed that despite phone tapping of TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, dictating Election Commission, using money and power and other probing agencies like ED against the Mamata Banerjee-led state government, the BJP lost the West Bengal Assembly elections. He also advised the BJP government to come prepared with better resources in 2024.
Read:| No amount of re-setting, re-booting rids Pegasus from device
Reacting to the Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's reply in the Lok Sabha on Pegasus, TMC MP Mahua Moitra said that there was no evidence earlier but now it has come to light that there are proofs available with 'The Wire'' which tested nearly 20 mobile phones of the journalists through the forensic lab. "The forensic report has revealed that around 10 of those mobile phones had Pegasus spyware and this is 50 per cent of the total and thus enough evidence. Now the BJP government must reply and discuss this in both the houses," Mahua Moitra said.
After the news of snooping on around 300 people using Pegasus spyware broke on the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament, Opposition parties not only disrupted the house on the issue but also launched a series of attacks on the Modi government. Now a united Opposition on this issue might be the next step to put more pressure on the government.
Read:| Congress leaders demand judicial probe into Pegasus row
