LEAD

As a big challenges to the Modi Government, in a rare show of solidarity, as many as 14 opposition parties came together Wednesday over the Pegasus row, demanding that the matter be discussed in both Houses of Parliament. Led by Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leaders held a meeting to discuss the issue, which was followed by a joint press conference.

Those part of the meeting included leaders from Shiv Sena, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party, National Conference, Aam Aadmi Party, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Kerala Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and Indian Union Muslim League, apart from the Congress.

“Today, India’s entire opposition is standing here. Why did we have to come here? It’s because our voice is being stifled in the Parliament. We have clearly been told that the government is not interested in discussing Pegasus in the Parliament,” Gandhi said.

A week after he termed the Congress as a party that has not been able to digest the BJP’s success, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday blamed the Opposition party for the continuing disruptions in Parliament.

According to sources in the BJP, Modi, while addressing the BJP MPs at the parliamentary party meeting, pointed out that the Congress has forgotten that the floor of the House is for discussion, not for slogan raising. He asked the BJP MPs to “expose the attitude of the Congress and some other Opposition parties” before the people.

Both the Houses have been witnessing ruckus and repeated adjournments during the monsoon session without any major legislative business or debates. The Opposition parties – the Congress-led UPA, TMC, SAD, SP and BSP – have been protesting against the alleged snooping by Pegasus spyware and contentious farm laws.

The Monsoon Session in the Parliament continued to witness pandemonium on Monday, with the opposition raising the Pegasus spyware controversy, even as Lok Sabha passed the Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2021 in the midst of a din.

Lok Sabha was adjourned by presiding officer Rama Devi after the two bills were passed. The House had to be adjourned four times as opposition MPs refused to relent despite repeated requests of the presiding officers, insisting that their demand for an inquiry into telephone hacking allegations be met.

Acrimonious scenes were also seen after the House was adjourned as TMC MPs, led by Kalyan Banerjee, continued shouting “shame, shame” targeting parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi for introduction of the bills. Earlier, the House displayed a brief moment of unanimity in congratulating weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu for her silver at the Tokyo Olympics.

Nine tourists were killed and a few others were injured after a landslide hit Sanga valley in Himachal Pradesh Kinnaur’s district today. A bridge at the end of the mountain and vehicles were damaged due to boulders rolling downhill.

In a video that surfaced social media, a section of the bridge could be seen collapsing as huge rocks broke off the mountain and came down in full force into the valley, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

The nine persons who died, out of which four were females, were reportedly tourists whose tempo traveller was hit by the boulders.

Three other victims, including a local, were severly injured.

New Delhi: Covid-19 vaccines should be made available by September for children, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria has said. Seeking to quell concerns around reopening of schools, and rising cases of paedriatic Covid-19 cases, Guleria said the jabs should be made available for children soon and thus the government can start considering the opening schools in a graded manner in areas where the positivity rate is less than 5 percent.

Even as experts say that the children rarely develop severe forms of Covid-19, the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra have recently seen a spike in paediatric Covid cases, and some deaths too. Not only instances of coronavirus, some cases of paediatric black fungus have been reported too.