BRS leader RS Praveen Kumar accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of orchestrating widespread and illegal phone tapping operations, targeting political opponents, his own Cabinet colleagues and journalists. He demanded a judicial probe by a sitting High Court judge and said the party would take up the matter with the Governor.
Speaking at a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Praveen Kumar said recent reports had exposed how Revanth Reddy, who also holds the Home portfolio, was directing illegal surveillance on Ministers and political leaders, including those within the Congress who posed a threat to his position.
“We wouldn’t be surprised if he’s tapping Rahul Gandhi’s phone,” he remarked.
He said there were serious suspicions that this surveillance was being carried out using software like Pegasus, in tacit coordination with the BJP-led government at the Centre. He demanded that the government place a sealed list of all tapped phone numbers before the High Court.
“The government must constitute a committee comprising the Chief Minister, Opposition Leader, a sitting High Court judge, and designated officials to authorise any surveillance, only in cases of national security and strictly under the Telegraph Act,” he said.
Raising questions over the credibility of the ongoing investigation, Praveen Kumar, a former IPS officer, said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the phone tapping case under the previous BRS regime could not be trusted in the current political scenario. He revealed that he received notices for questioning on July 14, but news of this appeared in a vernacular daily as early as July 7, indicating that leaks had already occurred.
“We don’t trust this SIT. We are demanding a CBI inquiry monitored by a sitting High Court judge,” he said.
