The BJP has decided to skip the meeting of the parliamentary panel on Information Technology, saying that the agenda of meet should not be made public.
The 32-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, for which the listed agenda is ”Citizens’ data security and privacy”, according to a notification issued by Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The BJP MPs have decided to boycott the meeting as it has been called during the ongoing session of Parliament.
“The agenda of the meeting should not be made public. As per rules, confidentiality should be maintained. Agenda became public before meeting. Agenda should be fixed with consent of committee members. We have boycotted the meet,” Zafar Islam, member of the panel said.
Earlier today, the committee chairman and senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that he will question government officials on the alleged Pegasus snooping row, asserting that it is the “most important issue” for many members.
The panel, which has the maximum members from the ruling BJP, has summoned officials from the Ministry of Electronics, Information and Technology and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
An international media consortium recently reported that more than 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two current ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders and one sitting judge besides scores of businesspersons and activists in India could have been allegedly targeted for hacking using Israeli Pegasus spyware sold only to government agencies
