Opposition hails SC order on Pegasus: Cong says big step, NCP hopes no pressure on panel

The Congress said it was a “big step” towards uncovering the truth. The CPI(M) said the committee should complete the probe expeditiously, and the NCP hoped the panel “will not be under any pressure from the government and will come out with a clear guideline with regard to extent of right of privacy of the common man as also the extent of the authority of the state to intrude upon it.”

The CPI said the Supreme Court had reprimanded the government as it had underlined that there was no specific denial by the Centre and also observed that the state cannot get a free pass by raising national security concerns every time. The TMC said the government was “caught sleeping” on the issue.

Addressing a press conference, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said his party was “quite happy” with the court’s decision, but asserted that they would continue to raise the issue in Parliament. “I hope they will do their job and provide justice. But this is a deeper problem. If the Prime Minister is using this as a personal tool….if the data is arriving on the Prime Minister’s desk then it is totally criminal…we will follow it up,” he said.

He said only the Prime Minister or the Home Minister could have authorised tapping of phones using Pegasus software. “Pegasus is an attempt to crush Indian democracy. It is an attempt to make sure that the vibrancy of the democracy, the conversations that take place in a democracy are crushed and people are controlled,” he said. “There is the institution of Parliament where we will raise this again and we will try to have a debate in Parliament. I am pretty sure that the BJP will not like that debate. So, they will make sure that that debate is stalled. But we will try to hold that debate,” he said.

He said central institutions were attacked using Pegasus. “Pegasus is, of course, a particularly nasty and subversive way of doing it. It is a way basically to control the politics of the country, to frighten people, to blackmail them into not doing what they are supposed to do. Not allowing the democratic process to work,” he said.

Rahul said the Congress has been asking the government three questions: who authorised the use of Pegasus; who were targeted; did any other country have access to information from India.

“All the casuistry marshalled by the government and the Minister of Telecommunications has been exploded by the SC order. The primary basis of the order is that Pegasus spyware was acquired by an Indian government agency. The second basis of the order is that Pegasus was used against Indian citizens. I am certain that the inquiry ordered by the SC will bring out the multiple violations of law by the government,” said senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.

“The BJP government remained obdurate and arrogant, denying discussion on the Pegasus issue and derailing the monsoon session of Parliament. After the Supreme Court order, they have egg on their face… I hope the government allows the winter session to be productive,” said senior Congress leader Anand Sharma.

The CPI(M) said the “government had refused to give a categorical answer to the Supreme Court on whether any state agency used Pegasus spyware or not”. “This evasive stand, itself, was an admission of their complicity in the matter. It was the same obduracy that saw the entire monsoon session of Parliament getting stalled. Since the court has observed that national security cannot be the cover to deny a concrete response, it is incumbent upon the government to give a categorical reply,” it said.

It said the committee should invite opinions from concerned persons. “It should also invite foreign experts to testify as this spyware has international ramifications,” it said.

“The top court has not only assured a thorough investigation but also promised a guarantee for the protection of the privacy of the individual,” said CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court. He said it was a “leap forward in the area of privacy protection”.

TMC leader Derek O’Brien said the government has not allowed a discussion in Parliament on issues like internal security and Pegasus. “We are happy that the BJP has been caught sleeping on the issues,” he said.

NCP’s Majeed Memon said the Supreme Court has underlined the importance of the right to privacy. “No citizen can be deprived of the right to privacy unless there are permissible reasons and justification for doing so, even by the all-powerful state. It has been found in recent times that… the government comes forward with silly excuses to justify intrusion into its opponents’ or critics’ private lives by saying it has been done in the interest of national security.”

“Now that the independent committee has been constituted, it is expected that it will function on expected lines, will not be under any pressure from the government, and will come out with a clear guideline with regard to extent of right of privacy of common man as also the extent of the authority of the state to intrude upon it,” he said.