MYSURU: Accusing the State Government of covering up a CBI report on alleged illegal phone tapping, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson M Lakshman on Sunday demanded that the government reveal the report and allow the filing of a chargesheet in the case.
Lakshman said that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, after assuming office, had ordered a CBI probe after complaints of illegal phone-tapping were reported by senior IPS officers on August 19, 2019. “After registering an FIR and starting a probe, the CBI raided several senior IPS officers.
We are told that the agency is ready with a detailed report and has approached the State Government to give its consent to file a chargesheet, but the government has kept it pending for over a month,” he alleged.
Yediyurappa is under pressure to cover up the case, he said. The CBI could have directly filed a chargesheet before the court, instead it has sought government’s consent, he added.
“Now the State Government has approached the advocate-general for a legal opinion when it was not needed. The government should allow the CBI to file the chargesheet,” he said. Terming CBI as ‘Chor Bachao Institute’, he alleged that the BJP is using Central agencies to suppress the voice of opposition in the country.
‘Radhika targeted in Yuvaraj case’
Lakshman alleged that Yuvaraj Swamy, who has been arrested in connection with several fraud cases, is an RSS member and is associated with several BJP and right-wing leaders. He said that the case is moving in the wrong direction after actor Radhika Kumaraswamy’s name cropped up.
“Though RSS claims that Yuvaraj is not its functionary, he was a pracharak and took part in several RSS events. He had close links with several politicians, but to divert the issue, Radhika’s audio clips were leaked. This is an attempt to protect others,” he said.