Phone tapping: BJP demands KCR’s arrest after ex-cop’s revelation

Hyderabad: With a former police officer’s arrest in the phone tapping case making startling revelations, the BJP’s Telangana unit on Tuesday demanded former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s arrest and prosecution.

BJP Spokesman N. V. Subhash asked why the Congress government is not arresting the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader despite the evidence of his involvement in phone tapping.

Describing phone tapping as the biggest scam of the BRS, he alleged that the KCR family and police officers close to them were involved.

He said that the lack of action by the Congress government in the case shows that BRS and Congress have colluded.

The BJP leader said the confessions of the police officers show that the BRS government harassed several BJP leaders. He said a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) can bring out the truth.

BJP General Secretary Bandi Sanjay Kumar called KCR’s actions a “disgrace” to democracy.

“Phone tapping done under the BRS regime is worse than the emergency. This is a violation of Constitutional and human rights,” he said, adding that KCR’s fear of the BJP is now out in the open.

He was reacting to the reported confession of former Deputy Commissioner of Police Radha Kishan Rao, an accused in the case.

The former DCP revealed details of how the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) was used by the previous BRS government headed by KCR to tap the phones of leaders of opposition parties, businesspersons and even the dissidents within BRS.

Sanjay said Radha Kishan Rao’s confession has confirmed his previous statements on the involvement of KCR.

“It is evident now that KCR wanted to fabricate the MLA poaching case as a quid pro quo to protect his own daughter, caught in the liquor scam. Such a shame that KCR and his gang have not even spared private conversations between couples. As someone who took an oath on the Constitution, KCR has not only betrayed the law but also has crushed the basic rights of citizens,” he said.

The BJP leader said that the BRS Chief is unfit to hold any constitutional position, including that of an MLA and needs to be banned from contesting elections.

Along with KCR, all those involved in phone-tapping from the BRS party need to be prosecuted and removed as public representatives from their posts. It is imperative to also think about banning BRS membership.

“Despite the clear evidence, why isn’t the Congress government arresting KCR? Why hasn’t the main accused, Prabhakar Rao, been brought back from the USA?” he asked.

Sanjay said former SIB Chief Prabhakar Rao’s arrest could reveal more facts about the corrupt practices of the BRS government.

The BJP leader stated that if Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has faith in democracy, he should write to the CBI, seeking a detailed investigation.

He also demanded that the Assembly Speaker disqualify KCR as the MLA.