NATIONAL NEWS
A) Kashmiri journalists, leaders were potential targets of Pegasus-based spying, reports The Wire
News and opinion website The Wire on Friday reported that Delhi-based Kashmiri journalists, a prominent civil society activist critical of the official policy towards Jammu and Kashmir, and over 25 people from Kashmir were selected as potential targets of surveillance between 2017 and mid-2019 by an as yet unidentified government agency that was also believed to be a client of the NSO Group of Israel. The Israeli firm has denied that the records accessed by the ‘Pegasus Project’ have anything to do with surveillance. According to The Wire report, the names include separatist leader Bilal Lone and the late S.A.R. Geelani, whose phones were forensically analysed by it. For the other potential targets in Kashmir, it was not possible, for one reason or another, to conduct forensic analysis. As The Wire and its media partners have noted, the appearance of a number in the leaked database does not necessarily mean that the phone in question had been infected; but it does mean that the phone number was likely selected for potential surveillance, it said. Others on the leaked database include at least two members of People’s Democratic party (PDP) chief and former chief minister of J&K Mehbooba Mufti’s family… their selection as potential targets of surveillance happened when Mufti was still chief minister of the erstwhile State and in a coalition with the BJP, it stated. J&K Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari’s brother Tariq Bukhari also appeared in the list, besides at least four members of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s family, including his son-in-law, journalist Iftikhar Gilani; and his son, scientist Syed Naseem Geelani, it noted. The current head of the Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was a potential target of surveillance between 2017 and 2019, apart from his driver, human rights activist Waqar Bhatti, and at least five Kashmiri journalists, including Muzamil Jaleel of The Indian Express, Aurangzeb Naqshbandi with The Hindustan Times at the time, Iftikhar Geelani (formerly with DNA) and Sumir Kaul of PTI, it said. Shabir Hussain, a Delhi-based political commentator from Kashmir, was also in the list.
B) Parliament fails to function for fourth day in a row The Parliament failed to function for the fourth day in a row following protests from the Opposition parties on issues ranging from the Pegasus controversy to the farmers’ agitation. In Rajya Sabha, Trinamool Congress MP Shantanu Sen was suspended for the remaining part of the Monsoon Session for snatching and tearing off the statement on Pegasus which the Minister for Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) Ashwini Vaishnaw was reading. The motion seeking his suspension was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan and passed by a voice vote. The Opposition parties protested against the move saying that they were not given any opportunity to respond. TMC MPs Derek O’Brien and Sukendu Sekhar Ray said that the concerned member should have been given an opportunity to speak. O’Brien also pointed out that after the house adjourned on Thursday, Sen was roughed up. We saw boorish behaviour and hooliganism in this house, he said. In response, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said that this issue was not brought to his notice. The Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh meanwhile asked the Chairman Naidu to allow for clarification on the statement on Pegasus made by IT Minister Mr Vaishnaw. Sen was asked to leave the house by Naidu, but he continued to sit in his seat. The house was adjourned till noon. The upper house was adjourned thrice at 12 and 12:30 pm since despite multiple pleas from the Deputy Chairman, Sen did not leave the house. Sen, in fact, remained seated inside the house even after the adjournments. His picture was circulated to all entry gates to the house with directions to the marshals that he should not be allowed inside. The convention dictates that no business can be transacted till the suspended member is removed from the house. Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha Chairman Naidu berated the house for disruptions in the past three days. The moot question is who would benefit from a dysfunctional Parliament? Certainly not the country and its people, Naidu said. The only business that has been transacted in the last three days he said was a debate on Covid-19. The proceedings of the House hit a new low with the papers being snatchhed from the Minister and torn into pieces and thrown into the air. Such actions are a clear assault on our parliamentary democracy, he added. The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice on Friday due to the ongoing protests by the Opposition parties on issues ranging from the Pegasus controversy to the farmers’ agitation.
C) NSCS’ Budget allocation increased 10 times in 2017-18, says Prashant Bhushan
The Budget allocation for the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) increased 10 times, from ₹33.17 crore in 2016-17 to ₹333.58 crore in 2017-18, said senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Friday. He alleged that it was the year when the NSO Group of Israel, which has developed the Pegasus spyware, was paid hundreds of crores for snooping on several eminent individuals’ phones. He tweeted, In 2016-17, NSA’s budget was ₹33.17 crs. Next year the budget increased 10x to 333 crores because 300 Crores was added under new head ‘cyber security R&D’. This is the year when NSO was paid 100s of Crs for Cyber hacking of Opp, Journos, Judges, EC, Activists using Pegasus! Wow. By NSA, Bhushan seems to be referring to the National Security Advisor, whose Budget comes under the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). According to the Expenditure Budget statements for the relevant years, the allocation for the NSCS first shot up 10-fold in 2017-18, but actual spending was less than double the previous year. However, in the following financial year, before the May 2019 general election, the spending by the NSCS shot up by over 13 times from the 2017-18 levels, to well over ₹800 crore. The allocation for 2016-17 was indeed ₹33.17 crore, which was later revised to ₹81.03 crore. However, the actual spending was ₹39.09 crore. In 2017-18, the allocation surged to ₹333.58 crore, but revised estimates put the likely spending at ₹168 crore. The actual expenditure was ₹61.18 crore. It was only in 2018-19 that the actual expenditure on this front shot up significantly. That year, ₹303.83 crore was allocated for meeting the ‘administrative expenses’. However, revised estimates presented later were much higher at ₹841.73 crore. While the original Budget allocation was earmarked as revenue expenditure, as per the revised estimates, only ₹125.84 crore was for revenue spending, with the balance ₹715.89 crore reflected as capital expenditure. The actual spending for 2018-19 ended up at ₹812.32 crore, with the proposed capex part fully spent, while the revenue spending was lower at ₹96.43 crore. The Opposition parties have demanded an independent probe into the alleged use of Pegasus software for spying on Ministers, politicians and journalists.
D) At least 60 dead as rains batter western Maharashtra.
At least 60 persons have lost their lives in landslides triggered by intense rain in western Maharashtra and the coastal Konkan region as monsoon fury continued unabated over the region on Friday. While the entire State, including the normally arid Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, have been receiving particularly heavy showers over the last 72 hours, the situation remained particularly grim in the Mahad and Poladpur tehsils in Raigad, Chiplun and Khed in Ratnagiri, as well as the ‘sugar belt’ districts of Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli. 49 of those killed died in three separate landslides in Raigad itself. Tragedy struck Taliye village in Mahad on Thursday evening when the entire village of around 35 houses was instantly buried in a major landslip in an incident strongly reminiscent of the 2014 Malin landslide in Pune. While precise casualty figures was not confirmed, authorities said so far more than 35 bodies had been recovered from the debris while more than 70 people were missing. Other sources said 38 bodies had been retrieved till now. Local people were the first responders as heavy rainfall, waterlogging, and disrupted connectivity delayed National and State Disaster Response Forces (NDRF and SDRF) teams. The relief teams struggled to clear boulders and damaged roads to reach the village. Rescue operations in Taliye had to be called off after 6 p.m. due to poor visibility compounded by increasing rain.
E) The road ahead is more daunting than the 1991 crisis: Manmohan Singh
The 1991 economic reforms lifted millions out of poverty, unleashed the spirit of free enterprises, and catapulted India into a $3 trillion economy but the road ahead is even more daunting than the 1991 crisis, former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said today. To mark the 30th anniversary of economic liberalisation and the opening up of the Indian economy on July 24, Dr. Singh issued a statement in which he recalled the achievements, but expressed his pain at the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the loss of lives and livelihoods. The country needs to recalibrate its priorities to a dignified life for all Indians, he said. It gives us immense joy to look back with pride at the tremendous economic progress made by our nation in the last three decades. But I am also deeply saddened at the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of millions of fellow Indians. The social sectors of health and education have lagged behind and not kept pace with our economic progress. Too many lives and livelihoods have been lost that should not have been, Dr. Singh said. It is not a time to rejoice and exult but to introspect and ponder. The road ahead is even more daunting than during the 1991 crisis. Our priorities as a nation need to be recalibrated to foremost ensure a healthy and dignified life for every single Indian, he added.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Tokyo Olympics begins with no-frills opening ceremony
Thy sky over the National Stadium in Tokyo exploded in indigo and white as fireworks marked the start of the opening ceremony for the Olympics on Friday, celebrating the world’s best athletes set to compete amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Postponed for a year, organisers were forced to take the unprecedented step of holding the Games without fans as the novel coronavirus is on the rise again, taking lives around the world. Even the opening ceremony, normally a star-studded display teeming with celebrities, was eerily silent, with fewer than 1,000 people in attendance, strict social distancing rules, and signs calling on the spectators to be quiet around the venue. Japan had billed the Olympics as an echo of the 1964 Tokyo Games, which marked the country’s return to the world stage after its devastating World War Two defeat, but this time showcasing its recovery from the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. But hundreds of protesters carrying placards that read Lives over Olympics protested around the venue. The protesters, a mix of people in white surgical masks, yelled Stop the Olympics as they marched. The opening ceremony will be marked by high-profile absences, including former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who wooed the Games to Tokyo. A number of top sponsors and economic leaders will also stay away, highlighting strong opposition to the sporting extravaganza in COVID-fatigued Japan. Only a third of the nation has had even one dose of vaccines, prompting worries the Games could become a super-spreader event. More than 100 people involved with the Olympics have already tested positive. The Olympics have been hit by a string of scandals, including the exit of senior officials over derogatory comments about women, jokes about the Holocaust and bullying. The Games run until August 8.
B) Pelosi says Capitol probe will go on despite GOP’s boycott plans.
Unfazed by Republican threats of a boycott, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that a congressional committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection will take on its deadly serious work whether Republicans participate or not. The Republicans’ House leader, Kevin McCarthy, called the committee a sham process and suggested that GOP lawmakers who take part could face consequences. Mr. McCarthy said Ms. Pelosi’s rejection of two of the Republicans he had attempted to appoint was an egregious abuse of power. The escalating tension between the two parties is emblematic of the partisan anger that has only worsened since former President Donald Trump’s supporters laid siege to the Capitol. With most Republicans still loyal to Mr. Trump, and many down playing the severity of the violent attack, there is little bipartisan unity to be found. Mr. McCarthy said on Wednesday that he would withdraw the names of all five Republicans he had appointed after Ms. Pelosi rejected two of them. Ms. Pelosi made clear that she won’t relent, and Democrats mulled filling the empty seats themselves.
