New Delhi, July 28 Upping the ante against the Central government, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused it of "curtailing" the voice of opposition in Parliament and said that the government has used Pegasus weapon against the people of the country.
He also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inserted Pegasus weapon in phones which is being used to hit the soul of India's democracy.
His remarks came after a meeting of 14 opposition parties earlier in the day to chalk out a strategy to take on the government over the Pegasus tapping issue, which has snowballed into a massive political row.
The Pegasus issue has forced repeated adjournments during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Addressing the media, Rahul Gandhi said, "The entire opposition is here... our voice is being curtailed in Parliament."
He said that we are only asking if the Pegasus software was bought, and if it was used against certain persons in India.
"The government has said no discussion... Why shouldn't we have a discussion on the floor of the House? Narendra Modi has put a weapon (Pegasus) and is snooping on our phones," he alleged.
"I want to ask the people... there is a weapon Narendra Modi has planted in your phones... used against opposition leaders, journalists, activists... should there not be a discussion in Parliament?" he said.
"If we (the opposition) agree there will be no discussion on Pegasus, the issue will get buried.
"And till the time Pegasus is not discussed in Parliament, we are going nowhere," he said.
To the allegations of the BJP that the Congress is not allowing Parliament to function, the Congress Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Wayanad, whose name is also on the list of alleged snooping targets said: "They say we are disturbing Parliament. But we want to fulfill our responsibilities and this is against the democratic process."
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who was part of today's meeting, said that the opposition is "united in our stand to protect issues of national security, democracy and farmers' welfare".
Besides Rahul Gandhi, several opposition leaders from the Shiv Sena, the CPI and CPI-M, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the AAP and DMK were part of the meeting.
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