Ppposition parties have demanded an explanation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Pegasus.
The government has reached out to the opposition to break the week-long deadlock in parliament set off by the Pegasus scandal. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has met Congress's Manish Tewari and Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress
Here are the Top 10 points in this big story:
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah had a lunch meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to discuss the situation, sources said.
- No business has been conducted in the Monsoon Session of parliament after the Pegasus spyware scandal erupted on July 18.
- With NSO -- the vendor of the Israeli military-grade software -- declaring that it only supplies the software to "vetted governments", the opposition parties have demanded an explanation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- The Congress has sought the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah over the issue and an investigation against PM Modi.
- Even today, Rajya Sabha was adjourned as opposition MPs shouted slogans and held protests at the Well of the House.
- Lok Sabha ran for nearly 30 minutes, taking up some questions during the Question Hour when Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm amid the interruptions and slogan-shouting. Later in the day, two bills were passed -- the Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill and the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management Bill.
- Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu has expressed concern over the disruptions, saying 90 members of the House are being denied opportunities to raise issues of public importance even after their notices were admitted.
- The issues included shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, time bound completion of vaccination, unemployment due to continuing pandemic, hike in petro-prices, alleged attacks on the freedom of press and the situation in Lakshadweep.
- On Thursday, Trinamool Congress's Rajya Sabha member Dr Santanu Sen was suspended from the House for the rest of the Monsoon Session for snatching IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's statement on the Pegasus affair and flinging them amid uproar.
- Since the pandemic began, three sessions of Parliament were curtailed while the Winter Session last year had to be cancelled. Seventeen new bills are listed for this session, while four are pending in Lok Sabha and three in Rajya Sabha.Three of the bills seek to replace ordinances.
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