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TMC workers take out procession in Kolkata with horse over Pegasus snooping row

Written by Sharangee Dutta | Edited by Avik Roy, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Jul 29, 2021 06:45 PM IST

TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is currently on a five-day visit to Delhi, has already formed a panel to inquire into the Pegasus project issue.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers took out a procession in Kolkata on Thursday with a horse over the Pegasus snoop project issue, news agency ANI reported. Among the leaders present at the procession was party leader Madan Mitra, who walked blindfolded

Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra walked in the procession blindfolded. (ANI Photo)

TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has already directed the formation of a commission to probe into the Pegasus issue, which has kept the Opposition and the NDA-led Centre at loggerheads since its disclosure on July 18. West Bengal became the first Indian state to officially initiate a probe into the matter.

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Banerjee is currently on a five-day visit to the national capital. Addressing the media at Nabanna, the state secretariat, before leaving for Delhi, Banerjee said, “The cabinet has approved the appointment of a commission of inquiry…in the matter of widely reported illegal hacking, monitoring, putting under surveillance, tracking, recording, etc. of mobile phones of various persons in the state of West Bengal.”

The West Bengal chief minister has, on several occasions in the past, alleged that her phone was being tapped. Last week, she hinted that a high-level TMC meeting attended by her along with political strategist Prashant Kishor, TMC leader (and Banerjee’s nephew) Abhishek Banerjee, and party’s West Bengal president Subrata Bakshi, ahead of the conclusion of the recent assembly polls, was snooped into using surveillance tools.

“The mobile phones were with us, even though we were not talking on the phone. The entire meeting was recorded. We came to know after PK (Prashant Kishor) got his phone audited. Can you imagine how dangerous it is?” she added.

Notably, both Kishor – who played a prominent role in TMC’s landslide victory in 2021 assembly polls — and Abhishek were named in the list of potential targets.

Banerjee further stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must summon an all-party meeting to discuss the Pegasus issue.

“When I talk to Prashant Kishore, [and] Abhishek Banerjee, my phone is hacked. Please remember that,” she added on Wednesday.

The chief minister has already met several significant Opposition leaders on her Delhi visit, including Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, party leader Rahul Gandhi, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, among others.

With focus on strengthening the central Opposition’s presence, Banerjee said that she hopes the entire opposition can come together and “create history” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Also Read | 'Poore desh me khela hobe': Mamata on Opposition’s unity ahead of 2024 elections

Meanwhile, the Opposition’s uproar over Pegasus snooping row saw both Houses of the Parliament get adjourned yet again on Thursday. It has been adjourned till 11am on July 30.

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