No Separate Discussion On Pegasus, Consensus On Not Stalling House: Govt After All-Party Meeting

The government on Monday said there is no need for a separate discussion on the Pegasus issue now as the matter is sub-judice, while asserting that there was a consensus that the House not be stalled.

If Opposition parties want, they can raise any issue while speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the president's address, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters after an all-party meeting was held virtually.

Joshi said the floor leaders of 25 parties attended the meeting in which the government was represented by Defence Minister and Deputy Leader of Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh.

Joshi said Singh sought cooperation from all parties for the smooth functioning of the House during the Budget Session.

As far as the Pegasus issue is concerned, he said, there is no need for a separate discussion now, but opposition leaders are free to raise any issue while speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the president's address.

Addressing the meeting after listening to the view of the leaders of all the parties present, Singh expressed his gratitude for the healthy discussion.

"He stated that there was a consensus that the House not be stalled," Singh was quoted as saying in a statement from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Responding to the points raised by leaders, Singh said they could identify issues on which they would want discussions to be held.

The Budget session of Parliament began on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on April 8 with a recess from February 12 to March 13.

Ahead of the session, the Pegasus issue was reignited after a New York Times report claimed that India bought the Pegasus spyware as part of a USD 2 billion defence deal with Israel in 2017.