What is Pegasus spyware? It is a “licensed organisation run by an Israeli company, NSO Group”. It can be used to infiltrate smart phones that run on both iOS and Android operating systems and turn them into surveillance devices.

It is a fact of deep concern that Indian democracy is far from an Ideal one. The Prime Minister is having Ministers in his Cabinet but he has a trust deficit in some of them. Some of his Cabinet Colleagues’ smart phones are therefore being tapped or “spywared”.

This has been made public from what has come out in the Washington Post of the US, the Guardian of the UK and the Le Mandi in France. The names of two Central Ministers, namely, Smriti Irani and Prahallad Singh Patel are there in the public domain. Their smart phones were tapped. Not only this. The services of the spy organisation called the “Pegasus Spyware” were employed probably with several crores of rupees to break the JDS-Congress Government in Karnataka. Over and above, the telephones of scores of journalists namely Swati Chatruvedi and many others including Siddharth Varadarajan of the Wire and poll strategist Prashanta Kishor, Rahul Gandhi, etc were spied upon to gather rich political dividends. The Pegasus spyware can put under perfect surveillance any person whose activities may substantially go against the Prime Minister or the President of the day. The organisation is being used to subvert democracy. No democracy, which is having morally gifted political leaders both in the Government and in the Opposition, will have any need for any spying organisation like the Pegasus. The Prime Minister or the President who are having a sense of insecurity will try to capture and tame the journalists of the land and the media houses. But there are certain journalists who are freelancers, who cannot be purchased. In addition, there are media houses that do not have any “price tag”.

The solution to this horrible image-destroying, reputation-annihilating spying system lies in having the following five pillars here in India to strengthen our democracy and make it an ideal one.

One, the electoral system called the First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) System that gives unequal representation in Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha must go and it must be replaced with the Mixed PR System of New Zealand. Why should BJP have 103 Members extra in the Lok Sabha? According to its voting percentage, that is 37%, the BJP is entitled to have only 200 members in the Lok Sabha. Not at all a single member extra, but it is now having 303 members.

Two, governance must not be “shrouded with secrecy”. Governance must be fair and ethical. So the 2nd pillar needed for Indian democracy is Cabinet meetings held by the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers respectively must be open to the Press. Each Cabinet meeting is to be held in the presence of, say, 30 journalists sitting in the Press gallery and covering the Cabinet proceedings.

Third, funding of political parties by corporate houses must be banned. The income and expenditure of each political party must be audited by qualified people appointed by the Election Commission of India.

Fourth, phased elections must be done away with and instead single-day elections be held. The Election Commission must not act according to the whims and caprices of the PMO. And, in addition, the Prime Minister and Central Ministers must not be allowed to canvas in State elections, ignoring their basic responsibilities at the Central level. Counting must follow soon after the voting is over.

Fifth, it relates to the stability of the Government. Once a Government is formed whether by a single party or by a coalition of parties, it must continue for the whole term of five years. The way the Congress Government was pulled down in MP and JDS – Congress coalition that was de-stabilized by the BJP must not be allowed to happen. The continuance of the Government shall be overseen by the Election Commission of India and Supreme Court of India.

(The writer is general secretary, Freethought Party of India)