Tag: NSO

  • CPI(M) MP gives notice in Rajya Sabha to move privilege motion on Pegasus issue

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: CPI(M) MP V Sivadasan submitted a notice on Monday to move a privilege motion under rule 187 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Rajya Sabha, accusing the government of “misleading” the House on the Pegasus spyware issue.

    In his notice, Sivadasan said on August 9 last year, responding to his question on whether the government had carried out any transaction with NSO Group Technologies, Minister of State, Defence Ajay Bhatt said there was no transaction between the ministry and the Israeli firm, while a report in the New York Times has stated that India and Israel agreed on “the sale of a package of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear worth roughly USD 2 billion — with Pegasus and a missile system as the centrepieces”.

    “This revelation confirms the apprehension that the reply by the Hon Minister was misleading the august House, thus constituting a breach of my privilege as a member of the House and of the privilege of the House as a whole. The matter has grave implications for the dignified functioning of Parliament,” he said.

    The Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP also said he had raised a similar question again, this time to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which was rejected, but the MHA chose to “insultingly dub the question as hypothetical in remarks, thus trying to convey the message that there was no ground for such a question to arise”.

    “This response was received in the members’ portal. But the New York Times and several national and international media houses have published the news that Pegasus was bought from NSO group of companies as part of a billion-dollar deal with Israel. Thus, it is evident that the response of the Ministry of Home Affairs is misleading.”

    ALSO READ: Pegasus spy row: CPI MP submits notice to move motion against Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

    “As the minister heading the Ministry of Home Affairs, Amit Shah is responsible for the misleading response, which constitutes a breach of my privilege as a member of the House,” he said.

    Sivadasan also raised questions on the response of Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, who in his statement on the Pegasus issue had said, “NSO has also clearly rubbished the claims in the report.”

    This revelation confirms the apprehension that the statement by the minister was misleading Parliament, thus constituting a breach of the privilege of the House. The matter has grave implications for the dignified functioning of Parliament.

    The continuous accountability of the executive to the legislature is the distinguishing feature. And any attempt by the executive to mislead Parliament constitutes a grave attack on the democratic values.

    “It is a frontal attack on the concept of popular sovereignty, which constitutes the bedrock of our democracy,” the Left leader said in his notice.

    “It is condemnable that the ministers deliberately chose to mislead the House by giving vague and incorrect statements”, he said, adding, “Based on the facts above mentioned, I propose to move a motion to refer the said question of privilege to the Committee of Privileges, Rajya Sabha.”

  • Congress and Trinamool shake hands in Bengal ahead of Mamata Banerjee’s Delhi trip

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: A new equation between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress appears to have emerged in West Bengal as the two bitter political rivals are coming closer on the issue of Pegasus snooping.

    A day before TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Delhi and her plan to meet the opposition party leaders, party’s national spokesperson Derek O’Brien shared Congress’s tweet displaying Bengal CM’s nephew and party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee as a victim of Pegasus spyware snooping. The vice president of Congress’s Bengal chapter Diptiman Ghosh said the party has already extended its hand to the TMC.

    O’Brien retweeted Congress’s tweet which said, “PM Modi took the adage, ‘keep your enemies closer’’ a little too far. #PegasusSnoopgate” The tweet, displaying Abhishek’s photo, said, “Aap chronology samajhiye. Target of Pegasus spyware. Who? Abhishek Banerjee-nephew of Mamata Banerjee. When? 2021. Why? West Bengal elections. Modi Govt’s insecurities are endless.”

    #KhelaHobe https://t.co/yi8bs0Q3XV
    — Derek O’Brien | ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) July 25, 2021

    The word “chronology” was used frequently by Union Home Minister ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections when he elaborated implementation of contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citzens (NRC). “First the CAA will come. All refugees will get citizenship. Then NRC will come…understand the chronology,” Shah had said repeatedly.

    The Congress in West Bengal also softened its stance on the issue of dealing with the ruling TMC. The state Congress president had earlier said that the party would not field any candidate against Mamata Banerjee in Bhowanipore Assembly by elections as the chief minister will have to get elected as she lost in Nandigram.

    On Friday, state Congress vice president Ghosh said, “Mamata Banerjee faced many challenges to reach her today’s position in politics. If she urged all anti-BJP political forces to come under one umbrella, we are all set to respond. On this issue, we should echo the same. We have already extended our hands to the TMC.”

    Mamata will leave for Delhi on July 21 and and she has announced her plans to meet leaders of non-BJP parties. She also requested NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress leader P Chidambaram to arrange a meeting while giving a call to uproot the BJP from the Centre in the 2024 general elections.

    TMC leaders admitted that the party’s political stance has been changed after the party’s stupendous victory in the recent Assembly elections and Mamata’s emergence as an anti-BJP leader in the country. “She is now eyeing the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and for this, she is gearing up for taking the TMC into the arena of national politics,” said a TMC leader.