Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Wednesday said the Opposition was united in demanding a discussion on the Pegasus snooping row in Parliament in the presence of the prime minister or the home minister.

He rejected the government's charges over the disruption of Parliament and said the Opposition was only fulfilling its responsibility.

He also attacked the government over the Pegasus snooping row, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit of "hitting the soul of India's democracy".

The voice of Opposition was being suppressed in Parliament, he alleged. "We are only asking if the government bought Pegasus and snooped upon Indians."

"I want to ask the people - there is a weapon Narendra Modi has planted in your phones... used against opposition leaders, journalists, activists... should there not be a discussion in Parliament," he stressed

"... if we (the Opposition) agree there will be no discussion on Pegasus... the issue will get buried... till the time Pegasus is not discussed in Parliament, we are going nowhere," the Congress leader, whose name was on the potential target list, said.

"We are not disturbing Parliament, we are only fulfilling our responsibility," he said.

He also said the Pegasus row "for us is an issue of nationalism, treason". "This is not a matter of privacy. It is an anti-national work."

He said the Opposition was united over the issue.

Earlier in the day, Opposition parties met in Parliament to discuss the issue. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who was part of that meeting, said the parties were "united in our stand to protect issues of national security, democracy and farmers' welfare."

"Like Rahulji explained, the government has used this weapon as an arrow again democracy and we will not stand for it. This must be discussed in Parliament," he was quoted as saying by ndtv.com.

The government has been rejecting all Opposition charges over the issue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday singled out the Opposition Congress and accused the party of blocking Parliament.

Modi singled out the Congress and attacked it despite the fact that other Opposition parties like the DMK, Trinamul Congress and the Left were also protesting and stalling Parliament.

“Modiji said that the Congress was not only blocking Parliament but it was also not allowing efforts to resolve the deadlock succeed,” said one BJP MP, who attended the closed-door meeting. “He asked us to expose the Congress before the people and the media.”

The government has been trying to show that it was ready for discussions on all issues but it was the Opposition, particularly the Congress, which was bent on only obstructing Parliament proceedings.

The monsoon session of Parliament commenced on July 19, a day after the Pegasus hacking row broke out, and is scheduled to continue till Aug 13.