New Delhi: The New York Times revelations on Pegasus have once again stirred politics. Congress has said that not only Rahul Gandhi, but also the OSD of former PM, former CM Vasundhara Raje, and Union Minister Smriti Irani were spied on. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has accused the Narendra Modi government of ‘sedition’.
According to the New York Times, the defense deal signed between India and Israel in 2017 mainly involved the purchase of Pegasus spyware and a missile system. Pegasus spyware was also bought from Israel during a massive $2 billion deal to buy missile systems from Israel.
At the same time, a committee under the Supreme Court is monitoring the Pegasus software case and its report is awaited. The court has constituted a committee under the supervision of retired Judge Raveendran.
Congress engaged in making new strategy
It is clear from the stand of Congress that the opposition will make the Pegasus issue the main issue in the budget session of Parliament starting next week. Congress sources say that soon after the new revelations on the espionage scandal, party strategists have started making a fresh strategy for opposition solidarity with other opposition parties. Its responsibility has been entrusted to the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge. It is believed that many other parties including TMC, Shiv Sena can also come with Congress on this issue and the government can be demanded to discuss it. Mamta Banerjee has already been an attacker on the government regarding the espionage scandal.
It is believed that after the presentation of the budget in Parliament, there may be a political struggle of the opposition in both the houses regarding this political agenda. Addressing a press conference, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress had raised the issue in Parliament last year and would raise it again.
What happened in the monsoon session last year?
In the monsoon session of Parliament last year also, the Pegasus espionage scandal was made a strong issue by the opposition. The Pegasus issue rocked the monsoon session of Parliament last year and opposition parties disrupted both the Houses demanding a discussion on the scam. There was a conflict in Parliament for about two weeks on this. Due to the unity of the opposition and not going back on their demand for debate, there was no sign of the political ruckus in both houses.
Experts believe that some similar possibilities are visible this time as well that the budget session of Parliament can also become a ruckus and the opposition can demand an answer from the government on this. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, in a statement to Pegasus in the Lok Sabha on July 18 last year, had rubbished allegations of its use by the Indian government.
When did Pegasus come into the limelight?
This matter first came into the limelight in 2019. Through this, there was an allegation of spying on the phones of about 1400 journalists, human rights activists, and many politicians. There was an allegation of hacking of other important information including WhatsApp on the phones of Pegasus victims. In July 2021, a media group revealed that Pegasus spyware is spying on many big leaders, businessmen, and journalists around the world including India.
Prominent people whose phones were monitored through Pegasus included Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, election strategist Prashant Kishor, former Election Commission member Ashok Lavasa, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnav, and Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel, including separatist leaders from Kashmir and several journalists. Names are also included.
