Rahul Gandhi led a meeting of opposition leaders this morning – second in a week – to discuss issues of Pegasus snooping row and other issues.
Rahul Gandhi and Opposition Breakfast
Amid the sumptuous breakfast, Rahul Gandhi and 11 Opposition leaders discussed many pressing issues, the Pegasus snoop gate, bad handling of the pandemic, and farmers’ agitation, among other issues. Also, today’s breakfast meeting was called to discuss the option of holding a “mock parliament” outside the Parliament.
Rahul Gandhi also tweeted a photo of the opposition leaders having breakfast together.
One priority- our country, our people.
एकमात्र प्राथमिकता- हमारा देश, हमारे देशवासी। pic.twitter.com/NkyfGaYRY8
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 3, 2021
Trinamool Congress’s Mahua Moitra, the NCP’s Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, and the DMK’s Kanimozhi were among the leaders attending the breakfast meeting as they united against the government. “We are witnessing something special here,” Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted.
After a sumptuous breakfast, leaders of eleven Opposition parties spoke briefly about the importance of unity in Parliament and on the ground in the struggle against the anti-people policies & undemocratic actions of the BJP government. We are witnessing something special here. pic.twitter.com/MNtOcocMmF
Rahul Gandhi’s Bicycle Ride to Parliament
Straight after the breakfast and nearly a week after his surprise tractor ride to the Parliament to back the agitation against new farm laws, Rahul Gandhi this morning rode a cycle, joined by the Opposition leaders to protest against the issue of fuel price hike.
“One of the ways to draw the attention (of the government) to the issue is by cycling to parliament. People of India are struggling…” Mr Gandhi earlier said at the breakfast meeting.
Shashi Tharoor tweeted: “After a sumptuous breakfast, leaders of eleven Opposition parties spoke briefly about the importance of unity in Parliament and on the ground in the struggle against the anti-people policies & undemocratic actions of the BJP government. We are witnessing something special here.”
After a sumptuous breakfast, leaders of eleven Opposition parties spoke briefly about the importance of unity in Parliament and on the ground in the struggle against the anti-people policies & undemocratic actions of the BJP government. We are witnessing something special here. pic.twitter.com/MNtOcocMmF
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 3, 2021
AAP MP Sanjay Singh, who skipped the breakfast meeting, said, “Attending or not attending (the meet) is not important. Whenever a discussion is held in parliament, we will support the farmers and raise the issue of snooping row.”
Attacking the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a BJP parliamentary meeting, said: “The opposition is not letting the parliament function. This is an insult to democracy and to the public.” The BJP Parliamentary party meeting was held around the same time as the opposition meet.
Union Minister Rajnath Singh had dialled up the Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, on Monday afternoon to seek his support amid protests, sources said. The government should allow discussions in Parliament, Mr Kharge had told him.
The opposition has been demanding a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the Pegasus snooping row and the allegations that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, poll strategist Prashant Kishore, judges, activists and even ministers were potential targets of Israeli spyware.
The government has dismissed these demands, saying a statement read out in Parliament by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav – one of the potential targets of the hacking – was sufficient. For days, the BJP has laboured to label the snooping of the phones a “non-issue”.
Last week, Rahul Gandhi addressed a meeting of 14 opposition parties. “The entire opposition is here… our voice is being curtailed in parliament. We are only asking if the Pegasus software was bought and if it was used against certain persons in India,” Mr Gandhi later asked, addressing the media.
“I want to ask the people – there is a weapon Narendra Modi has planted in your phones… used against opposition leaders, journalists, activists… should there not be a discussion in Parliament?” he questioned.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who was part of the meeting, stressed the opposition is “united in our stand to protect issues of national security, democracy and farmers’ welfare”.
After breakfast Rahul Gandhi rode a cycle to the Parliament today; other opposition leaders joined him.
As a mark of protest against the spiralling high fuel prices in India, causing inflation, and that too when there are no jobs and the economy is crashing, Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders rode cycles to the Parliament.
