Editor's Pick: Opposition up in arms over Pegasus

The revelations made in the Pegasus Project reports by several media organisations worldwide resulted in chaos in the Indian Parliament on Day 2 of its Monsoon Session. The Opposition parties did not allow Lok Sabha to function, while Rajya Sabha saw debates on COVID-19. The protests were spearheaded by the Congress and the TMC; both parties have leaders whose numbers appear on the list of possible targets of surveillance using the Pegasus spyware. The Opposition seems to have arrived on a strategy of not allowing the Lok Sabha, where the BJP has the upper hand, to function while it pushes debates in Rajya Sabha, where it has a better grip. With the revelations continuing to come in from the Pegasus project, the Opposition will have enough in its arsenal to keep the government engaged in Parliament. Pegasus-maker NSO's statement that its clients are only nation States and reports that its business is closely controlled by Israel will be points that the Opposition will use to build the case that the Pegasus surveillance in India is government-sanctioned. The fact that the profiles of those who have been targeted, such as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, political strategist Prashant Kishore, and virologist Gagandeep Kang, are outside the scope of the national security argument for surveillance, will also be used by the Opposition to allege political witch hunts. With its options limited, the government may have to resort to strong arm tactics to conduct business in the Lower House. This possibility of a showdown, along with the lost hours of legislative work during the critical pandemic period, is what makes the story important. Today's Editorials Spy in hand: On Pegasus spyware issue Sharing during scarcity: On Krishna and Godavari River Management boards Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click here Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who was the first Indian to win an individual medal in Olympics? 1. Leander Paes 2. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore 3. Abhinav Bindra 4. K.D. Jadhav To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 21 JULY 2021 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Opposition up in arms over Pegasus [Opposition up in arms over Pegasus] The revelations made [in the Pegasus Project reports]( by several media organisations worldwide resulted in chaos in the Indian Parliament [on Day 2 of its Monsoon Session](. The Opposition parties did not allow Lok Sabha to function, while Rajya Sabha saw debates on COVID-19. The protests were spearheaded by the Congress and the TMC; both parties have leaders whose numbers appear on the list of possible targets of surveillance using the Pegasus spyware. [The Opposition]( to have arrived on a strategy of not allowing the Lok Sabha, where the BJP has the upper hand, to function while it pushes debates in Rajya Sabha, where it has a better grip. With the revelations continuing to come in from the Pegasus project, the Opposition will have enough in its arsenal to keep the government engaged in Parliament. Pegasus-maker NSO's statement that its clients are only nation States and reports that its business is closely controlled by Israel will be points that the Opposition will use to build the case that the Pegasus surveillance in India is government-sanctioned. The fact that the profiles of [those who have been targeted]( such as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, political strategist Prashant Kishore, and virologist Gagandeep Kang, are outside the scope of the national security argument for surveillance, will also be used by the Opposition to allege political witch hunts. With its options limited, the government may have to resort to strong arm tactics to conduct business in the Lower House. This possibility of a showdown, along with the lost hours of legislative work during the critical pandemic period, is what makes the story important. Today's Editorials [Arrow][Spy in hand: On Pegasus spyware issue]( [Arrow][Sharing during scarcity: On Krishna and Godavari River Management boards](  [underlineimg] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( [underlineimg] Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Who was the first Indian to win an individual medal in Olympics? 1. Leander Paes 2. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore 3. Abhinav Bindra 4. K.D. 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