Telangana BJP chief slams Congress govt over phone tapping case, demands CBI probe

Telangana BJP President N Ramchander Rao on Saturday criticised the Congress-led state government for its handling of the ongoing phone tapping case, alleging a lack of seriousness in the investigation.

Speaking to the ANI, Rao noted that BJP leader Bandi Sanjay was summoned to record his statement in connection with the case.

"Today, the phone tapping case investigation was in progress, and Bandi Sanjay was called for his statement. The Congress government doesn't appear to be serious about the issue. So far, they have arrested only the officials, but they have not laid their hands on any political leaders who are responsible for the phone tapping. The CBI is the only answer for it. There will be a proper investigation done only if the investigation is given to the CBI. We demand that this phone tapping case be given to CBI for further investigation," he said.

On Friday, Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar demanded that the Telangana government hand over the investigation into the alleged phone tapping during the previous BRS regime to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"It has been confirmed that judges' phones were tapped, right? Then, does the SIT even have the authority to summon judges and record their statements? Keeping this in mind, I demand that the phone tapping case be handed over to the CBI. If a letter is written to the CBI, they are ready to investigate," Bandi Sanjay told reporters after appearing before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case.

Bandi Sanjay alleged that his own phone was tapped under the pretext of Maoist activity, along with those of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and several BRS MLAS during the KCR-led government.

"I appeared for questioning today as per the notice given by the SIT officials. It has come to light that my phones were being tapped every moment. I was even shocked to discover several things. They tapped the phones using the pretext of Maoists. Along with me, the phones of Revanth Reddy and BRS MLAs were also tapped. In fact, I was the first person to expose the issue of phone tapping," he said.

"I was shocked to hear the revelations made by the SIT police during the inquiry. Whatever political programs I planned, the police already knew about them in advance. They used to call our staff and ask, 'You are planning this particular program, right?' Now I understand--it was all because of the phone tapping. That's why, during KCR's regime, everyone used only WhatsApp calls. Even beggars wouldn't use regular phone calls--this shows the extent of atrocities under the BRS rule," the Karimnagar MP said.

He added that he has handed over all related information and evidence to the SIT.

The phone tapping issue had earlier triggered a political row in June this year, when BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) issued a legal notice to Telangana Congress chief Mahesh Kumar Goud over allegations.