VIJAYAWADA: Terming the letter of TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging phone tapping by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government as a political issue, BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao said that there was no scope for the Centre to intervene in such issues.
If the courts were facing any issue, the BJP leader said, they don’t need the help of Naidu as judiciary is an independent entity, which can take care of its issues.
Responding to a query in a press meet in New Delhi on Tuesday, GVL said, “The letter written by Naidu alleging phone tapping is political. The Centre can’t intervene in issues such as this and Chandrababu Naidu, who served as the Chief Minister for 14 years and who had earlier dealt with central agencies and even restricted the CBI as per his convenience, should know this better. In the past, his phone was tapped and the entire State heard his voice, he didn’t complain then. Even now, he has not specified anybody’s names. If there were such issues, he should move the court, but the Centre doesn’t have any scope to intervene.”
Noting that Naidu alleged that the phones of judges were also tapped, the MP further said, “Judges and courts are self-reliant. If there are any such issues, they don’t need Naidu’s help. They know how to exercise their authority. So, political leaders raising court issues aren’t right.”
The BJP national spokesperson reacted on YSRC leader Lakshmi Parvathi’s statement that she would write to authorities seeking CBI probe against Naidu’s ‘corruption’.
“If she wants a CBI probe, she has to write to the Chief Minister, not the Prime Minister. If the State government requests the same with preliminary evidence, then the Centre can consider it. The CBI can probe an issue only as per state government’s request or court’s order,” he explained.