Pegasus case: Mamata Banerjee take big decision, constitutes inquiry panel to probe the matter

As the opposition continues to target the Narendra Modi government on the Pegasus espionage case, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has constituted a two-member commission comprising retired Supreme Court Justice MB Lokur and retired Calcutta High Court Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya to probe the matter. Announcing the commission, Mamta said that Bengal has become the first state to initiate such an investigation.

The formation of the two-member commission was approved at the special cabinet on Monday afternoon.

Addressing a press conference, Mamta said that she wanted that a central committee to be formed to investigate the Pegasus espionage case, but the central government is not doing anything, so the state government has decided to make a commission and investigate the matter. Opposition parties allege that many key personalities in India were spied on with the help of Pegasus spyware made by an Israeli company NSO Group.

"From judges to journalists, from politicians to bureaucrats, police and everyone is now under the surveillance of the Pegasus. The Parliament session is going on and I thought that the Centre will investigate into the thing under the guidance of the Supreme Court but I felt the Centre is not at all concerned about the whole thing and so West Bengal becomes the first state in the country to constitute a commission of enquiry which will look into the whole issue independently and impartially," the chief minister said.

On the other hand, the noise of the espionage controversy is being heard continuously even in the monsoon session of Parliament. Leaders of opposition parties met on Monday to discuss the matter and insisted that the issue should be discussed in Parliament.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has given adjournment notice to Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Pegasus case and said that Question Hour, Zero Hour and other business should be suspended and there should be a discussion on the matter in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah. Kharge claimed that the Pegasus espionage case is a very serious matter for the country as the government has been conducting espionage for the last few years.

There has been a constant stalemate in the monsoon session of Parliament over the Pegasus case and three new agricultural laws from the Centre. The session began on July 19 and since then the proceedings of both the houses have been disrupted.