New Delhi: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped today's opposition meeting about Pegasus scandal, but at a press conference later, made it clear that her party is at the forefront of the battle over the issue.
"All political parties in the opposition must work together. We will all sit together and work something out," she said.
Asked who will lead the opposition, she shot back, "I'm not an astrologer... Someone will emerge , I will support".
Claiming that her phone has also been hacked, Banerjee said she is not able to speak to anyone. Then she amended: "Even if I'm not on Pegasus, if I speak to Abhishek Banerjee, or PK (election strategist Prashant Kishor) it is hacked. If one phone is hacked, all are hacked".
Meanwhile, the meeting, chaired by Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, was attended by opposition leaders from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and discussed the joint opposition strategy to corner the government on the issue.
A total of 14 parties attended the meeting including Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party (SP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, National Conference, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Kerala Congress (M) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK).
Earlier, the Bengal chief minister had announced that the her government has formed an inquiry commission to look into the Pegasus snooping row. West Bengal is the first government in India to do so.
The Trinamool Congress, which Banerjee heads, had been demanding a judicial inquiry ever since a global media consortium, including The Wire, broke the news of the Pegasus software possibly or successfully being used to snoop on journalists, politicians, activists, government employees and students.
