Mamata demands ‘all-party meet on Pegasus’ during meet with PM

New Delhi: Amid a massive controversy surrounding the alleged Pegasus snooping scandal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi after meeting several Congress leaders, including Kamal Nath and Anand Sharma.

“It was a courtesy meeting with PM today. During the meeting, I raised the issue of Covid-19, and need for more vaccines and medicines in the state. I also raised the pending issue of the change of name of the state. On this issue, he said, ‘He will see’. PM should call an all-party meeting on the Pegasus issue. There should be a Supreme Court-monitored probe in this matter,” the West Bengal CM said.

Sharma and Nath visited the Trinamool Congress supremo amid the Opposition’s all-round strategy to corner the central government over the alleged surveillance scandal.

“Mamata Banerjee and I have close ties as we have worked together for years. I appreciate her for how she fought the recent polls and won. She’s come to Delhi for the first time after her (assembly elections) victory, so I came and had tea with her,” Sharma said without disclosing details of the meeting.

Mamata is expected to meet Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi tomorrow at the latter’s residence on 10 Janpath in Delhi. The TMC chief will also meet her party MPs in Delhi on Wednesday.

“We have not discussed any strategy. That will be discussed by the leader of our party. We just discussed the current situation and the issue of rising prices,” Nath told reporters.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar earlier today said that he might also meet the West Bengal Chief Minister on Wednesday in New Delhi as the TMC supremo will hold important meetings with Opposition leaders to strategise an alliance of anti-BJP camps ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.