Phone tapping of CM, others rampant in Kerala: Congress MLA

Congress legislator Anil Akkara on Monday said telephone tapping has become a normal affair in Kerala, with even Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's telephone being tapped.

Akkara, a first time legislator, raised the issue in the Kerala Assembly and said it was not just Vijayan's telephone but those of close to 27 top CPI-M leaders, including legislators, that had been tapped.

Speaking to IANS later, Akkara said the telephone tapping incident was raised in the CPI-M party committees also.

"I know for sure that my telephone has been tapped when I was taking forward a case of rape that involved CPI-M leaders in my assembly constituency. Since I have nothing to hide nor am I involved in anything against the law, I have no issues in my phone being tapped," said Akkara.

He said one reason why the telephones of CPI-M leaders were being tapped was because the service provider BSNL had a strong Left union, and with issues in the party surfacing on and off, it kept happening.

Akkara also referred to Vigilance Director Jacob Thomas having gone public with the assertion that his telephone was also being tapped.

"No action is being taken against this intrusion and when it comes to private service providers, it's the police who do this directly," Akkara added.