The motion comes after Tharoor expressed his intentions to raise the Pegasus issue in committee meetings which have been reportedly disrupted by BJP MPs on two separate occasions. A no-confidence motion has been moved to remove Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor from the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology by BJP Lok Sabha MP Dr.Nishikant Dubey and 17 other committee members, MediaNama has confirmed. MediaNama has reached out to Shashi Tharoor for comment and will update the story as and when he responds. Why does this matter? The central government is under tremendous pressure to begin an investigation into the use (or potential use) of the Pegasus spyware on opposition leaders, activists, journalists, and others. The IT Committee chairman Shashi Tharoor has, on multiple occasions, said that his committee will investigate the government’s alleged use of the spyware. Earlier today, a committee meeting was to be held to discuss ‘citizen’s rights and privacy’ with representatives from MeitY, MHA, and MoC presenting evidence; but this was cancelled due to a lack of quorum. Dubey's reasons for the motion Speaking to MediaNama, Dubey said that he had moved the no-confidence motion under Articles 94 and 96 of the Constitution of India which deals with the vacation of office of speakers and deputy speakers in Parliament. Dubey gave three reasons for moving the motion: 1) Disclosures to the media: Dubey alleged that Tharoor speaks to the media before any proceedings take place. Referring to direction 55(i) of the Speaker rules,…
