Rajya Sabha MP and senior BJP leader K. Laxman has said his party would approach Telangana Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan seeking his intervention on the ‘shocking’ phone tapping case under the previous Government led by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), in the view of more complainants coming forward and the Congress Government not taking any action against the “real persons” responsible for the criminal act.
He has once again reiterated his party’s call for a full fledged probe by the CBI into the illegal phone tapping and said it was necessary to identify the perpetrators behind the intrusion into personal lives of citizens and encroachment upon their fundamental rights.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s State office in Hyderabad on Wednesday, Mr. Laxman claimed that tapping phones of individuals and making use of the unethical surveillance under the leadership of a retired senior police official to extort money from business persons and blackmailing of the political opponents is a matter of “national security”.
The MP, also the party’s national OBC morcha president, pointed out that the confession statement of the police officials arrested for the illegal activity had also admitted to have had targeted political opponents during the last two Assembly elections as well as during the by polls, possible influencing election results too.
“The fact that police vehicles were used to transport money for the elections indicates the extent to which the BRS Government has gone the dictatorial way. The votes for notes case in which Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was arrested should also become part of the probe. Only the CBI can conduct an impartial probe to get to the bottom of this,” he maintained.
Mr. Laxman also criticised the Congress Government for not taking investigations into the “scams” of the BRS Government to the logical end, raising doubts about the intentions. “From Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme to Dharani portal to power purchase agreements and now the phone tapping, the Government has made a lot of noise, but no action has been taken against persons responsible,” he charged.
“It could be conspiracy by the Congress Government and BRS Party, shadow boxing on such issues, to thwart Prime Minister Modi’s bid to win a third time and garner the highest number of MP seats in Telangana. But they will not succeed. The PM’s development agenda, no appeasement policy, zero tolerance on corruption and welfare schemes cannot be matched with,” he added.
In a related development, former Minister and Malakjgiri BJP candidate Eatla Rajender told an election campaign meeting that he and his family too were under the illegal phone surveillance under KCR Government during the Huzurabad by poll, but people of the constituency stood by him. He also criticised Mr. Revanth Reddy, who made scathing regards against defection when in Opposition, for admitting elected BRS leaders into the ruling party without seeking resignations.
Published - April 03, 2024 05:21 pm IST
