VISAKHAPATNAM: In a startling claim, Andhra Pradesh Congress President YS Sharmila alleged that her phone, along with those of her husband and close associates, was tapped by the previous Telangana regime.
Speaking to the media at Visakhapatnam Airport on Wednesday, Sharmila said, “Phone tapping is a fact. YSRCP senior leader Y V Subba Reddy himself confirmed it to me at the time and even played one of my tapped conversations.” She added that she is willing to appear before any probe on the issue.
“The close ties between Jagan Mohan Reddy and BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao during that period were stronger than blood relations,” she said, alleging that the phone tapping was part of a joint effort to politically and financially isolate her in Telangana.
Her remarks come at a time when the Telangana government, now led by the Congress, has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of phone tapping during the previous BRS regime.
She further alleged that the surveillance was just one part of a broader strategy to obstruct her growth. “Forgetting that I am his sister, Jagan worked to curtail both my political and financial progress,” she said.
Sharmila reiterated her willingness to cooperate fully with any inquiry. “I am ready to appear before any investigation. I am even prepared to swear on the Bible that our phones were indeed tapped,” she said, adding that she would file a formal complaint if necessary.
She urged the Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Revanth Reddy and N Chandrababu Naidu, respectively to accelerate the probe.