The defining metaphors of the recently ended monsoon session of both the Houses of Parliament turned out to be ‘Pegasus’- a springing, white winged horse in Greek mythology and ‘Albatross’, a large sea bird known for being a huge psychological burden around somebody’s neck.

To say that the Parliament session, after both Houses adjourned two days ahead of the August 13 schedule, was a washout, is to stress the obvious. But what is more significant in the 14-party Opposition’s resolute bid to unfailingly raise the issue, to demand a discussion on the ‘Pegasus spyware’ row till the very end, is the huge threat to democracy from technology and the perils of total centralization of power in Delhi.

The ‘Pegasus spyware’, allegedly used for snooping on mobile phones of hundreds of persons found opposing or inconvenient to the government, including Opposition leaders, journalists, civil rights activists and even two Ministers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP regime left unsparing, seemed to exceed even God’s omnipresence and omnipotence! Lists of people stung by ‘Pegasus’, released as a result of a global investigation by reputed media organizations, had a deadly chilling effect.

It meant that a private agency, thanks to latest computer and wireless technologies, had the potential to be a mighty global ‘State beyond States’, the specter of George Orwell’s 1984 coming horribly true, as democracies the world-over became severely vulnerable from an unseen, subtle-of-the-subtle.

It was but natural that the Opposition parties in Parliament sought to know from the Government, at least whether any of its agencies or departments had contracted the use of ‘Pegasus’, for even going by the most traditional Indian Nyaya logic, “there cannot be smoke without fire.”

But the BJP-led NDA was on the defensive from day one, taking umbrage under the socalled impossibility of any “illegal telephone tapping”, a discomforting allusion to the old Indian Telegraphy Act, and the demands of counter-terrorism measures obligatory on the Union Government.

A word about the ‘Pegasus spyware’ here may be in order: ‘The Guardian’ Newspaper of the UK in an article (by David Pegg and Sam Cutler on July 18), described it as “the name for perhaps the most powerful piece of spyware, ever developed- certainly by a private company. Once it has wormed its way on to your phone without you noticing, it can turn into a 24-hour surveillance device. It can copy messages you send or receive, harvest your photos and record your calls…Pegasus is the hacking software- or spyware that is developed, marketed and licensed to governments around the world by the Israeli NSO Group.”

The Opposition parties kept insisting on a discussion every day, while the ‘Pegasus’ row catalyzed a coming together of 14 Opposition parties, both inside and outside Parliament. Protests led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi outside the House, combining other issues as well like the steep hike in petrol and diesel prices and the continuing struggle by farmers against the three Farm Laws, weaved a new magic. On the other hand, the ruling BJP spokespersons reiterated that the Opposition stalled Parliament as they had no real issue.

“The Government has given an impression that the opposition parties are against holding discussions in Parliament. It’s not so. We wanted a discussion from day one. Every day we are giving notices, but the government is not coming forward for a discussion. It is a matter of great concern for democracy. Pegasus matter has to be taken very seriously. Likeminded people should come together to see that the matter is discussed,” said T.R. Baalu, leader of the DMK Parliamentary party after a protest on Vijay Chowk.

With the parliament logjam continuing, in the latter part of the session, even more disturbing was the way the ruling BJP began to steamroll scores of legislations in both Houses, practically with no discussion taking place.

The Lok Sabha session that got underway on July 19, managed to pass 20 Bills, mostly without debate or participation from the opposition parties, even as the Upper House passed 19 Bills in the Monsoon session under similar circumstances.

The only major exception was the Constitution (127the Amendment) Bill, 2021, to restore the power of the States “to make their own OBC lists”. The Bill witnessed an extensive debate from all parties in both Houses, as the amendment Bill sought to nullify the impact of the Supreme Court ruling in the ‘Maratha Reservation’ case. Demands for a ‘caste census’ and the need to revisit the 50 per cent overall cap on reservations in the Supreme court verdict in the Mandal case, came to the fore during the discussions.

The only major exception was the Constitution (127the Amendment) Bill, 2021, to restore the power of the States “to make their own OBC lists”. The Bill witnessed an extensive debate from all parties in both Houses, as the amendment Bill sought to nullify the impact of the Supreme Court ruling in the ‘Maratha Reservation’ case. Demands for a ‘caste census’ and the need to revisit the 50 per cent overall cap on reservations in the Supreme court verdict in the Mandal case, came to the fore during the discussions.

Condemning the unruly behaviour of the members in the Upper House, Rajya Sabha Chairman, M. Venkaiah Naidu lamenting the penultimate day’s events that saw some members protesting and standing on the table of the Secretary General and Reporters, termed the protests as “an act of sacrilege”.

In a parliamentary democracy, while the Opposition usually has their ‘say’, at the end of the day the ruling party has its ‘way’. This is what happened during this monsoon season also. Nonetheless, the value and significance of a parliament session to the democratic process is as much determined by the quality of the debates as by their outcomes.

‘Productivity’ of sittings alone cannot be the sole measure of performance; as what is at stake in the ‘Pegasus spyware’ controversybarring one brief written reply by the Ministry of Defense that they had no contract with Israel’s NSO Group-, is that the presuppositions of an ‘open society’ have been seriously eroded, going by the revelations. The public/private distinction, not just for the average citizen of India, but also for the influential elite, has virtually collapsed, threatening to distort societal patterns of communication.

Chief Justice of India, Justice M.V. Ramana’s reflections on the 75th Independence Day celebrations in Delhi that the increasing lack of debate in both Houses, unlike in the past, is leading to a situation wherein laws are enacted with its purpose little known, has come like manna from heaven.

“Now it’s a sorry state of affairs; there is no clarity regarding the Laws,” the CJI said. The ‘gaps’ in legislation was creating more litigation and inconvenience, casting a greater burden on the Courts in interpreting the Law, the CJI indicated. The ‘Owl of Minerva’, as Hegel would say, has taken wings.