BENGALURU: The illegal phone tapping case will be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa announced on Sunday. He said he will issue the official orders on Monday. “Several leaders, including Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, have sought a high-level probe,” he said.
The phone tapping row erupted a few days after ADGP Bhaskar Rao replaced Alok Kumar as Bengaluru city police commissioner. The latter had held the post for only about 48 days before he was shunted out. An audio clip, purportedly of Bhaskar Rao talking to one Faraz, who claimed to be close to senior Congress leaders, was leaked to the media. A preliminary inquiry had revealed that the phones of several politicians and some police officers had been tapped previously.
Reacting to the announcement, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, during whose tenure the phones were believed to have been tapped, asserted that he does not object to CBI probe. He demanded that the investigation cover the period starting from 2008. “Why only probe phone tapping during the 14 months of my tenure as CM? Why not also probe the five years of Congress rule under Siddaramaiah and the three years from 2008 when Yediyurappa was CM? We will know whose phones were tapped and by whom,’’ he said.
“I was targeted from the day I stepped down as CM. Regardless of which agency conducts the probe, they cannot find any wrong-doing on my part,” he insisted.
“The coalition government could not do good work for the people due to some reasons. I was targeted from the day I stepped down as CM, but I don’t worry at all. Regardless of which agency conducts the probe, they cannot find any wrong-doing on my part,” he insisted. He also dismissed as untrue the allegations that he resorted to tapping phones to save his coalition government. “There seems to be great concern for Siddaramaiah’s words, based on which a CBI probe is being ordered. I congratulate him,’’ he sarcastically remarked.
Siddaramaiah responded to the CM’s announcement saying he welcomed the probe but said, “I would want to believe that CBI will not be remote-controlled by the BJP for vendetta politics.’’ He also said, “There is talk that they have ordered the probe based on my statement. They should also probe the ‘Operation Kamala’ where huge amounts of money changed hands.’’
Siddaramaiah also noted that when BJP was in power in Karnataka in 2008, they never agreed to have any issue probed by the CBI. “It is surprising that they trust the CBI now,’’ he said.Independent MP from Mandya, Sumalatha Ambareesh, who had complained about misuse of official machinery in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, said, “During the elections, I had suspected that my calls were being tapped. The issue of misuse of government machinery should be probed.’’ She had also pointed out that intelligence officers were stationed outside her house.
‘Probe to reveal truth’
“I am so happy”, disqualified MLA A H Vishwanath said while welcoming the decision of the phone-tapping case being handed over to the CBI. Vishwanath, in a recent media briefing, had come down heavily on former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and also demanded a detailed probe into the row. Vishwanath told media on Sunday “CBI is a constitutional body and the decision to entrust the investigation of such a high profile case should be welcomed. The truth will emerge once the investigation is completed.”
(With inputs from Shreyas HS in Mangaluru)