As many as fourteen Opposition parties have issued a joint statement and have demanded a discussion on the Pegasus issue in the Parliament followed by a reply from the home minister and have squarely held the Centre for the 'ongoing deadlock.'
Claiming that the matter has 'national security dimensions,' the statement said, "It is unfortunate that the government has unleashed a misleading campaign to malign the combined opposition and blaming it for the continued disruption in the Parliament. The responsibility for the deadlock lies squarely at the doorsteps of the government, which remains arrogant and obdurate and refuses to accept the opposition's demand for an informed debate in both the houses."
The statement was issued jointly by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, DMK's T R Balu and Tiruchi Siva, Congress' Anand Sharma, Samajwadi Party's Ramgopal Yadav, Derek O' Brien and Kalyan Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, and Sanjay Raut and Vinayak Raut of the Shiv Sena among others read, "The Opposition has also unequivocally conveyed that the discussion on the farmers' issues and agitations arising from the three anti-farmers and black agri-laws should follow the discussions on Pegasus."
Interestingly, the statement was also signed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) which is part of the NDA-led Central government.
The statement comes after a stalemate in Monsson Session of Parliament with both the Houses paralysed by the opposition's uproar over their demand for a discussion on the Pegasus snooping issue and farmers' protests.
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