TMC MP demands privilege motion against IT Minister

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker demanding privilege motion against the Union Minister for Information and Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw over Pegasus spyware row for deliberately misleading the House.

According to the letter submitted to the Speaker, Roy quoted a New York Times report where it was mentioned that the Indian government bought the Israeli spyware in 2017 as a part of the $2 billion package for weapons.

In his letter, he mentioned that the Union government had lied to the Supreme Court of India when it directly questioned the purchase and deployment of Pegasus. The affidavit filed by the government stated that 'unequivocally', we deny all of the allegations against the government on the Pegasus issue.

In light of the revelations of the New York Times report, the Modi government misled Parliament and Supreme Court and lied to the people of the country. Hence he demanded a privilege motion against the Union Minister of Information and Technology for deliberately misleading the House of Parliament.

It may be mentioned that leaders of three political parties –the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India –have moved privilege motions against Vaishnaw for 'misleading' Parliament on the Pegasus issue.

Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday after the New York Times, in its report, claimed that the Indian government bought the Israeli spyware in 2017 as part of a $2-billion package for weapons.

A similar notice will be given in the Rajya Sabha as well.

Chowdhury said earlier the government, on the floor of the House, always maintained that it had nothing to do with Pegasus and that it never bought the spyware from the NSO Group.

"In light of the latest revelations by the New York Times, it appears that the Modi government has misled Parliament and the Supreme Court and lied to the people of India.

"In view of the above, I demand that a privilege motion may be initiated against the Minister of Information Technology for deliberately misleading the House on the Pegasus issue," the Congress leader said in his letter to the Speaker. He also alleged that the government "lied to the Supreme Court when it was directly questioned about the purchase and deployment of Pegasus".

The Congress leader pointed out that in a sworn affidavit, the government unequivocally denied "any and all" of the allegations against it on the Pegasus issue.