NATIONAL NEWS
A) Govts need to take steps to hold NSO Group accountable: WhatsApp CEO
Following revelations that NSO Group’s ‘Pegasus’ software may have been used to snoop on journalists, politicians and activists worldwide, including holders of 300 Indian phone numbers, WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart has called on governments and companies to take steps to hold the Israeli technology firm accountable. The list of India-based phone numbers include those related to recently appointed Minister for Communication, IT and Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, dozens of journalists, as well as ambassadors/high commissioners of several countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, China and Saudi Arabia. In a tweet, Cathcart said, This is a wake up call for security on the Internet. The mobile phone is the primary computer for billions of people. Governments and companies must do everything they can to make it as secure as possible. Our security and freedom depend on it. WhatsApp had in 2019 sued the NSO Group, accusing it of using the former’s messaging service to conduct cyber-espionage on roughly 1,400 user accounts, including those of journalists and human rights activists. Cathcart added that there is a need for more companies, and, critically, governments, to take steps to hold NSO Group accountable. Once again, we urge a global moratorium on the use of unaccountable surveillance technology now. It’s past time, he said. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a jibe aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tweeted, We know what he’s been reading everything on your phone! #Pegasus. Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who exposed surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), said the NSO Group should bear direct, criminal liability for the deaths and detentions of those targeted by the digital infection vectors it sells, which have no legitimate use.
B) Pegasus spyware: Congress wants Amit Shah sacked, Modi probed
Accusing the government of treason and compromising on national security over the Pegasus spyware issue, the Congress on Monday demanded the sacking of Home Minister Amit Shah and a probe into the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the matter. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala held Shah responsible for the Pegasus spying issue and said his party’s first demand is his dismissal from the post he occupies. He said the Congress will take all Opposition parties on-board over the issue and decide whether to ask for a judicial or parliamentary probes in the matter. Our first demand is the immediate sacking of Minister of Home and Internal security Amit Shah and a probe into the role of the Prime Minister in the matter, he told reporters. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said Shah should immediately resign as he does not deserve to occupy the position he is holding. Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said Modiji promotes digital India, but what we are seeing is Surveillance India. Accusing the Modi government of murdering the Constitution, law and dismantling national security, Surjewala said it is guilty of treason. The Modi government is the deployer and executor of this illegal and unconstitutional snooping and spying racket through Israeli surveillance software Pegasus, he said.
C) Monsoon session of Parliament sees a turbulent start
The monsoon session had a stormy start on Monday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi unable to introduce his new Ministers, as is customary after the reshuffle, on the first day of Parliament, due to Opposition protest against fuel prices’ hike and farm laws. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that in his 24-year career as a parliamentarian he had never witnessed such a disruption of the customary introduction of Ministers and Congress MP Manickam Tagore asserted that the BJP had done the same when Manmohan Singh, as Prime Minister, had sought to introduce his Ministers in the House. As soon as the Lok Sabha convened and Modi rose to speak, Opposition members protested, carrying placards on fuel price hike and raising slogans demanding the repeal of the three controversial farm laws. Modi responded by pointing out the diversity in his new Council of Ministers and the ‘disrespect’ shown to them by Opposition members. I thought there would be an atmosphere of excitement in the House today, because women, Dalits, Adivasis have been made Ministers in large numbers… I would have been happy to introduce them, he said. It should make everyone proud that several women, several people belonging to the SC/ST community have taken oath as Ministers. Several new Ministers are children of farmers and also belong to OBC [Other Backward Classes] communities. It seems some people cannot digest more women, SC, ST, and OBC community members becoming Ministers, he added. Rajnath Singh spoke as the din did not die down. Healthy traditions have been set by following conventions in Parliament. In my last 24 years of parliamentary life, I have not seen a single instance where the Prime Minister could not introduce his Council of Ministers, even if it’s one. It is sad, unfortunate and not a healthy trend, he said.
D) Opposition attempting to obstruct development trajectory, says Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah responded to disruptions in Parliament amid news reports on large scale snooping on journalists and prominent public figures via the software Pegasus, terming them as attempts by the Opposition to obstruct India’s development trajectory through ‘conspiracies’. He wrote this in a blog on his website after both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day after the Opposition parties raised protests on fuel price hikes, the three controversial farm laws and the Pegasus snooping scandal, demanding a Joint Parliamentary Comission (JPC) probe on the snooping and Shah’s resignation. Using a phrase often associated with him, Shah wrote, People have often associated this phrase with me in a lighter vein but today I want to seriously say the timing of the selective leaks, the disruptions…Aap Chronology Samajhiye! [please understand the chronology] this is a report by the disruptors for the obstructors. Disruptors are global organisations which do not like India to progress. Obstructors are political players in India who do not want India to progress. People of India are very good at understanding this chronology and connection, he said.
E) Supreme Court orders release of Manipur activist held over Facebook posts
The Supreme Court on July 19 directed the release of Manipur-based activist Erendro Leichombam, who was detained under the National Security Act for his social media posts allegedly on the efficacy of cow dung and urine as cures for Covid-19 in the context of the death of a BJP leader due to the virus. A Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah, remarking that the activist could not be detained in jail even for one night, ordered his release by 5 p.m. on July 19. The court said his continued detention would be a violation of his fundamental right to life and due process of law. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the government would file a response in the case but did not pose any objections otherwise. Advocate Shadan Farasat, for Leichombam’s father L. Raghumani Singh, said the government was increasingly using preventive detention provisions in cases in which even ordinary penal sections do not apply. Farasat submitted that the Facebook posts were criticism against the advocacy of cow dung and urine as a cure. He said stringent NSA provisions had been slapped against the activist to chill his free speech. The lawyer submitted that his client’s son had spent days in custody pursuant to criminal cases initiated against him followed by a spell in preventive detention after grant of bail. The petition has sought the quashing of a May 17 detention order and the grounds of detention issued by District Magistrate, Imphal West District. The petition by the father contended that the detention was in violation of an April 30 order of the Supreme Court that had barred authorities from taking legal action or muzzling voices critical of the government’s COVID management.
F) SC asks Kerala to explain why it relaxed Covid-19 curbs for Bakrid
The Supreme Court on Monday gave the Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala less than 24 hours to explain its reasons for relaxing Covid-19 restrictions between July 18 and July 20 for Bakrid celebrations while noting that any incident which directly affected lives would be viewed sternly and result in prompt action. A Bench of Justices Rohinton F. Nariman and B.R. Gavai asked Kerala to file its affidavit by evening and posted the case for hearing as the first case on July 20 taking into consideration the situation and the celebrations going on in the State of Kerala. Kerala counsel, advocate G. Prakash, said only some shops had been opened in a controlled manner. The court, meanwhile, closed its suo motu case on the conduct of the Kanwar Yatra by Uttar Pradesh after the State informed on Monday that there will be no Kanwar Yatra at all, it has been completely postponed in 2021. Senior advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan, for Uttar Pradesh, said the Kanwar sanghs had come forward and agreed to postpone the yatra considering the current public health situation. What My Lords have intended has had a beneficial effect, Vaidyanathan submitted. Justice Nariman said authorities needed to know that any untoward incidents which directly affect lives will be looked upon sternly and prompt action taken immediately. On Friday, the court, while rejecting Uttar Pradesh’s proposal to conduct a symbolic Kanwar Yatra amid the pandemic for compelling religious reasons, said the fundamental rights of citizens across faiths and their right to life trumped over religious sentiments. However, on Monday, senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for P.K.D Nambiar, intervened to say that while Uttar Pradesh had stopped the yatra, Kerala had displayed a casual attitude to lockdown restrictions owing to Bakrid. Kerala relaxed lockdown curbs on the occasion of Eid on the day the Prime Minister called for caution… Kerala has continued to throw up alarming numbers [of COVID cases] even while many other States have improved their situation, Nambiar said in his plea. He said the decision to open up markets were a product of discussions between Chief Minister Vijayan and the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasaayi Ekopana Samithi. Hence, no medical advice was sought. Communal and political considerations had driven Kerala to open up. Government of Kerala is ready to sacrifice the health and lives of innocent citizens during the critical situation. Political interests and causes cannot overcome the fundamental rights of the citizens of this nation, the plea said.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Pakistan accuses India of ‘using’ FATF for political ends
India is using the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for political designs against Pakistan, said the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, criticising External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for a statement claiming credit for Pakistan’s continuance on the world body’s watchlist. According to a Pakistan MFA statement on Monday, Jaishankar’s reported comments, made to a group of BJP members as part of a training workshop, vindicated Pakistan’s repeated accusation that India had pushed for Pakistan’s grey listing in 2018 for political rather than technical reasons, which continues to date. India’s credentials for assessing Pakistan in FATF as co-chair of the Joint Group or for that matter any other country are subject to questions, which we urge FATF to look into, the MFA in Islamabad said, adding that the Pakistani government is also considering contacting the FATF President for appropriate action, although it is unclear what that action would be. On Sunday, news agency ANI had reported that Jaishankar had addressed ruling party members as part of a series of e-Chintan workshops on Indian foreign policy achievement’s under the Modi government. According to the report, Pakistan’s grey listing for the past three years, including the most recent decision of the FATF plenary session to keep Pakistan on its increased monitoring list, were cited as the outcome of Indian efforts by the Minister. Due to us (government), Pakistan is under the lens of FATF and it was kept in the grey list. We have been successful in pressurising Pakistan and the fact that Pakistan’s behaviour has changed is because of pressure put by India by various measures, Jaishankar was quoted as saying. The FATF plenary had announced on June 25 that despite completing 26 of 27 tasks required, Pakistan’s failure to complete the last task on convicting all UNSC banned terrorists, meant it would not be delisted for the moment, and had handed down another 6-point list of tasks to be completed as well. Pakistan has consistently maintained that India has politicised FATF. The recent Indian statement makes clear their malintent. Manipulating an important technical forum for narrow political designs against Pakistan is disgraceful but not surprising for the Modi Government, Pakistan’s foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi alleged in a tweet on Monday.
