From the very day the Pegasus snooping issue came into limelight, the government has been hell-bent in denying its alleged involvement. The denial mode hasn’t seen any reversal till date and parliament, as expected, has now become an epicenter of acrimony with the opposition being routinely blamed for being solely responsible for poor productivity of the ongoing monsoon session. While the opposition parties are now being labelled as ‘disrupters’ for not allowing parliament to function normally, the question why the government is so determined to thwart discussions on the issue will hardly lose its relevance.The matter is not an ordinary one not only because, if ultimately proved, will tantamount to a stark violation of a vital fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution, i.e. right to privacy, the entire episode in its acrid essence is unthinkable in the world’s largest democracy.

Putting forward its ‘interpretation’ that the Pegasus spyware episode which has further rounds of revelations still left is a “non-issue,” the government on Friday said that it was ready for discussions on ‘people-related’ issues. This is as if the unprecedented allegations of spying on its own citizens, including many from the ruling dispensation also, are outlandish to infinity and deserve not even a basic-level discussion on any platform and the parliament is too sacred a place to deliberate on this ‘rubbish’. As an informed government, the Centre must be aware that France has already ordered a probe into the allegations, so as Israel and those keeping track of the events can safely conclude that many more nations, the personalities of whom have been found to be targeted or attempted so, will follow suit. There is a hunt for an answer to the central question now- if the all-powerful Pegasus spyware has been used in India, who purchased it? The maker of the software, Israeli agency NSO has on the first day the bombshell exploded, categorically and officially asserted that it’s only the government of countries to whom they sell and strictly not to any private entity or individual. And there is no news as of now that the NSO has back-tracked from this all-important statement. Meanwhile, at a time when the government continues to remain tight-lipped on the issue and a couple of petitions seeking probe already landing at the Supreme Court, through an open letter to CJI N.V. Ramana, more than 500 citizens that include distinguished journalists, writers, lawyers, academicians and activists have sought the apex court’s immediate intervention.

Despite all efforts, it’s distinctly likely that an official probe into the Pegasus scandal will be unavoidable. It’s for the government to decide whether to continue with the game of ducking or to be compelled by the SC to conduct a thorough investigation.