New Delhi: Accusing the government of "closing the door" on negotiations to break the logjam over the Pegasus issue in Parliament, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must intervene to end the impasse, and called for extending the Monsoon session to make up for the lost time.
The Rajya Sabha member, who is an influential voice of the Opposition, also slammed the government for repeatedly stressing that it was "reaching out" to the Opposition parties, saying the phrase does not mean that "with hands in your pockets and a stiff face, you say 'this is what I have to offer, nothing else'".
"Under the garb of reaching out they have been closing the door on negotiations. Many times I have noted that the so-called people entrusted with the idea of reaching out, probably lack the mandate in offering anything tangible to the Opposition," Jha said in an interview.
Since the start of the Monsoon session on July 19, parliamentary proceedings have been continuously witnessing disruptions due to protests by Opposition parties and a logjam has persisted over their demand for a discussion on the Pegasus snooping row.
An international media consortium has reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers, including that of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, union ministers Prahlad Singh Patel and Ashwini Vaishnaw, businessman Anil Ambani, and at least 40 journalists, were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Israeli firm NSO Group's Pegasus spyware.
The government has been denying all Opposition allegations in the matter.
Asked about the Opposition's demand for a discussion on the Pegasus issue and the logjam in Parliament over it, Jha said the government says in the media that it is reaching out but such efforts should mean "listening and not just hearing".
Jha alleged that the government was using the "language of enmity" which had taken away the possibility of "breaking the ice".
"But if Mr. Prime Minister himself intervenes and tells his people to break the ice and say 'we are ready to discuss everything', it is still possible to discuss. If possible, extend the session to make up for the time we have lost. We can sit after August 15," the senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
leader said.