The Swamp Of The Pegasus Spy System – OpEd

The Indian government is once again mired in the swamp of Pegasus spy system. All the opposition parties have worked hard to make him a defendant. The government will not be able to sleep on whether it will present a budget in this session of parliament or save itself from the onslaught of the Israeli spy system. The New York Times reported that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had bought the Rs 500 crore spy system during $2 billion arms deal during a visit to Israel in 2017. Then what happened? All the opposition parties in India came to dominate. They launched attacks on the government. He did not even notice that the Supreme Court had already set up an inquiry into the matter. When the issue was raised in the last session of Parliament, there was so much commotion that Parliament itself came to a standstill. 

The condition of the government had become so weak that it had closed its mouth. Neither the parliament nor the court could say with certainty whether it had purchased the spy system from Israel and whether it had used it to spy on opposition politicians, industrialists, journalists and key citizens. She just kept saying that this is a matter of national security. She cannot make all the facts public. If the court allows, she can set up her own inquiry. The court rejected the government’s excuse and set up its inquiry presided over by a retired judge. The court, opponents and many prominent journalists believed that no government could violate the privacy of citizens under the guise of national security. If the government spies against terrorists, smugglers, thugs, miscreants and criminal elements then it is appropriate but if it is so then why it needs to stutter, stagger and panic? 

The New York Times has turned the government’s panic into a major headache. Rahul Gandhi has said that the government has done wrong. The prime minister’s seat will be the victim of opposition attack in the parliament. Without the knowledge of the prime minister, no ministerial officer would dare to do such spying. Narendra Modi himself should not reveal the names of all these people but tell in Parliament what kind of people the Pegasus system has been used against and if by mistake or deliberately blame the opponents, journalists and industrialists. If it has been used against, apologize to them and end the matter here.

The budget presented by India this year is being described by BJP politicians as strengthening India for the next 25 years and 100 years while the opposition leaders are calling it utterly useless and disappointing. By the way, when Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sita Raman was presenting this budget in Parliament, the people who listened to her speech, especially the common people, felt that there was nothing in it for them. The government has not announced any reduction in daily necessities, nor has it reduced income tax to provide any relief to the middle class, nor has it announced any free facilities for the common man, as in previous budgets. 

There were great gimmicks, but this time they didn’t show up at all. Overall, this budget may seem like a show, but when all its statistics came out in detail and various debates were heard on TV channels, it seemed that a number of fundamental reform measures have been taken in this budget on which the government has informed the people. Must be well explained in simple language. The biggest thing is that nowhere in this budget is there a hint that it has anything to do with the five state elections, as everyone was thinking. Farmers, middle class businessmen and job seekers are disappointed with this budget. The big companies must be happy that their taxes have been cut but the dreams that the government has shown in this budget, if it can give them a solid shape, its public popularity will increase considerably. Such as creating 6 million new jobs, running 400 new rallies, promoting organic farming across the Ganges, giving 8 million houses to the poor, promoting mother tongue education through 200 new TV channels in about 40 million homes. It has announced to provide clean water through taps, connect five rivers, build 25,000 km of new roads and invest Rs. 200,000 crore in the development of small scale industries. 

When people start getting tangible benefits from them. The Corona epidemic has left millions jobless and halved the income of millions, inflation has broken people’s backs, many people have died due to lack of treatment. In such a situation, if the general public received some messages of immediate relief in this budget, the government would also get the credit. There has been talk of 25 and 100 years of development for India, but if there was a fundamental revolutionary initiative for education and medicine in India, that is, for the betterment of mind and body, then this budget would be truly better and more historic than other budgets.

*Sehrish Khan is a freelancer and media activist. She writes on political developments and security issues with special focus on South Asia and the region.