‘Perturbed’ by many persons ‘politely declining’ to be part of Pegasus probe panel: Chidambaram
The Hindu
“I am perturbed by the statement in the SC order that many persons when requested to be a member of a Committee to probe the Pegasus controversy, ‘politely declined’,” senior Congress leader Chidambaram tweeted
Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on October 28 said he was perturbed by the statement in the on the Pegasus snooping matter that many persons “politely declined” to be a member of the probe committee, and asserted that the “episode” illustrated how far the country has travelled from the exhortation of Mahatma Gandhi that Indians should not fear their rulers.
The Supreme Court on October 27 set up a three-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus for targeted surveillance in India, observing the state cannot get a “free pass” every time the spectre of national security is raised and that its mere invocation cannot render the judiciary a “mute spectator” and be the bugbear it shies away from.
“I am perturbed by the statement in the SC order that many persons when requested to be a member of a Committee to probe the Pegasus controversy, ‘politely declined’,” Mr. Chidambaram tweeted.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.