Oppn hardens stand on Pegasus row, LS adjourned for the day amid protests

New Delhi: Lok Sabha proceedings on Wednesday were adjourned for the day after repeated protests by Opposition members over the Pegasus snooping row and other issues.

After the House reassembled at 4 pm, Rama Devi, who was in the Chair, asked the agitating members to go back to their seats.

"Whatever you have to say, we will listen," she said.

However, the members continued to raise slogans and disrupt the proceedings.

With Opposition unrelenting, Rama Devi adjourned the House till Thursday.

She told the MPs: "You are happy when the House is adjourned...The House is adjourned till Thursday 11 am."

Meanwhile, the opposition on Wednesday hardened its stand on the Pegasus issue with 14 parties unitedly demanding a debate in Parliament in the presence of the Prime Minister or the Home minister and a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.

Earlier in the day, leaders of various Opposition parties met and decided to submit similar adjournment notices on the matter. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attended the meeting of 14 Opposition parties. The Trinamool Congress was not present.

"The Opposition is united for a discussion on the Pegasus issue... We are not going anywhere till it is discussed in Parliament," Gandhi told reporters in the presence of leaders of 13 other Opposition parties.

He also rejected the government's charges over the disruption of Parliament and said the Opposition was only fulfilling its responsibility.

Gandhi attacked the government over the Pegasus spyware row, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of "hitting the soul of India's democracy by snooping upon its institutions".

The voice of the Opposition is being suppressed in Parliament, he alleged.

"We just have one question. Has the Government of India bought Pegasus, yes or no? Did the government use Pegasus weapon on its own people, yes or no? That is all we wish to know," he told reporters at Vijay Chowk.

Accusing Modi of using Pegasus spyware against the people of India, Gandhi said: "This weapon has been used against India."

"It should be used against terrorists. We are asking the Prime Minister and the Home Minister why did you use it against democratic institutions? What has Indian democracy done that you have used the weapon against democracy?" he posed.

The government has been rejecting all Opposition charges over the issue.

Rahul Gandhi said the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are the places "where we have to speak and everyone is united on a discussion on Pegasus".

He added: "The government is refusing to allow us a discussion. Obviously, the government has done something wrong, something dangerous for the country. That is the issue."