Disruptions over Pegasus continue half-way through Monsoon Session

Stalemate in Parliament over Pegasus revelations continued for the second consecutive week as the Opposition disrupted proceedings demanding a discussion on the snooping allegations, which the government dubbed as a “non-issue”.

“The IT Minister has given a detailed statement. This is totally a non-issue and also a non-serious issue,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said responding to repeated disruptions in both Houses of Parliament demanding a discussion on the Pegasus revelations.

The Pegasus revelations have rocked Parliament since the Monsoon Session began on July 19, despite a statement by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The protests by the Opposition continued, and the government pushed its legislative agenda without discussion.

Joshi said the opposition parties should raise important issues “directly related to the poor people of India.”.

“The Government is ready for a discussion but most unfortunately, they are not allowing the Parliament to run,” the minister said.

At least eight bills, including supplementary demands for grants, were passed as the opposition protests led to disruptions that virtually washed away Parliament proceedings for the second consecutive week.

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge termed the Pegasus revelations as a “major issue of national security” and accused the Modi government of encroaching on the freedom enjoyed by the citizens.

He also said the Modi government had not reached out to the Opposition to break the logjam in Parliament.

Opposition leaders held deliberations in Kharge's office in Parliament and decided to insist on a debate on the Pegasus revelations in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah.

“We are aware that fuel price hike is an issue, corruption in Rafale is an issue and there are many other issues. But all parties have agreed that since we have raised the Pegasus issue, it needs to be discussed first. The opposition is united on this,” Kharge said.

On Friday, government introduced two bills, each in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill that seeks to enable depositors to access their savings through deposit insurance in a time-bound manner in case of restrictions on banks such as a moratorium was introduced in the Rajya Sabha.

The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill that seeks to provide for reducing the government’s shareholding in general insurance companies to below 51 per cent was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

The LLP (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which seeks to decriminalise certain compoundable offences and the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Bill were introduced in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha respectively.