Should KCR and KTR Face Consequences for Phone-Tapping?

Hyderabad, June 27 (NationPress) BJP MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy has called for punishment for former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and ex-Minister K. T. Rama Rao for their alleged involvement in “phone-tapping” during the previous BRS administration.

The MP representing Chevella testified before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the phone-tapping allegations on Friday. He informed the media that he faced false accusations and had his phone tapped after leaving the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

Reddy claimed that both his and his wife Sangita Reddy’s phones were monitored multiple times. He recounted fleeing to Bengaluru for two weeks to evade arrest following the registration of a case against him under non-bailable sections.

Having resigned from BRS in 2018, Reddy asserted that K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) must be held accountable to deter future phone-tapping.

The Lok Sabha representative from Chevella, who provided his statement to SIT officials, remarked that if necessary, the state government should solicit assistance from the Centre to investigate the matter.

He alleged that his phone was tapped during the by-elections for the Munugode and Dubbak Assembly seats.

Reddy mentioned that he had previously alerted the then Director General of Police (DGP) Mahender Reddy, but his concerns were not taken seriously.

Additionally, Reddy indicated that he would bring this issue to Parliament's attention.

The MP’s mobile number appeared in the Call Detail Record (CDR) list of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB), which had been monitoring several opposition leaders, journalists, businessmen, and others.

Media figure Radhakrishna also appeared before the SIT on Friday to provide his statement.

The Managing Director of 'Andhra Jyothi' testified before Jubilee Hills ACP P. Venkatigiri.

On June 17, the SIT recorded a statement from B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, the President of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC).

Meanwhile, BJP MP Raghunandan Rao criticized the SIT for not summoning him to testify, despite him being the first to report the phone-tapping.

The Lok Sabha member from Medak alleged that the phone-tapping began during the 2020 Dubbak Assembly by-election, where he was a BJP candidate.

Raghunandan Rao claimed that he repeatedly reported the phone-tapping to the DGP, but no action was taken.

The BJP leader accused the SIT of engaging in ‘time-pass’ under the guise of an investigation, questioning why the SIT had not arrested former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao, considered the principal suspect in the case.

Rao asserted that the manner in which the investigations into phone-tapping and the Kaleshwaram project are being handled indicates a collusion between the Congress and BRS.

The SIT has interrogated Prabhakar Rao several times. He allegedly established a Special Operations Team under a suspended DSP within the SIB to tap phones of opposition leaders and other individuals, benefitting the then-ruling political party and its leaders.

The phone communications of political leaders, businessmen, celebrities, journalists, civil society members, and even judges were reportedly monitored by this team.