Opposition divided over focus on Pegasus

At Sonia meet, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren flags challenge of explaining issue to voters

At the Friday’s meeting of 19 opposition parties, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren raised questions on whether the emphasis on the Pegasus cyberattack was misplaced and spoke of the challenges of effectively communicating the issue to the general public with any political impact. With three States going for polls early next year, many within the Congress and other parties feel that the strong focus on the issue may not be helping the Opposition’s cause and it could even turn out to be a second Rafale. According to the sources, Mr Soren said that while Pegasus is important, how does it impact the common man on the street or a farmer struggling against the new farm laws. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury countered to say that Opposition leaders have to convey the wider implications of the snooping episode, on how all the institutions were controlled by the government using this spyware and how dangerous it is for democracy. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the Pegasus spyware was used by the BJP government to turn the country into a “totalitarian state”.