BENGALURU: THE Opposition BJP on Wednesday accused the State Government of tapping the phones of Lok Bhavan (formerly Raj Bhavan) and the RSS state headquarters (Keshava Krupa) and sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The allegations by the BJP came in response to Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil’s recent statement in the Assembly, in which he alleged that Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot was receiving directives from leaders in Delhi and that this was the reason he left the Assembly Hall without making the customary address.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka recalled that the Ramakrishna Hegde government in the past had collapsed over phone-tapping allegations and asked the present government to be more cautious.
Patil, however, said that he had made the allegations last week, but there was no response from the Union Government denying it.
During the heated debate on Wednesday on the Governor’s speech, Patil told BJP members that their leaders from Delhi make calls to the governor’s office and curtail his power. Patil was replying to the allegations made by senior BJP MLA Suresh Kumar, who had alleged that when HR Bharadwaj was governor, he had left his speech after the then LoP Siddaramaiah insisted he not read it.
Reacting sharply, Suresh Kumar questioned whether the State Government was indulging in phone-tapping. He also referred to RDPR and IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge’s statement that the governor’s office receives calls from Keshava Krupa and asked whether this implied that a phone-tapping mechanism had been installed. “Does it mean he has kept a phone-tapping machine at his place?” Suresh said.
Adding to this, BJP MLA Sunil Kumar accused the government of deliberately interfering with the functioning of the governor’s office. He said Patil had made the allegation not once but twice on the floor of the House and demanded a clarification. “The government has stooped to such a low level,” he said.
The BJP members demanded that Patil withdraw his statement and apologise. Siddarmaiah intervened saying that Patil just took a reference and it is not a big deal that needs to be dragged.
Later, speaking to reporters, Ashoka said the ministers have indirectly admitted to phone-tapping. “Phone tapping is a crime. The Law Minister has committed an unforgivable offense and should apologise. There should be a CBI investigation. The government is getting all the information about what is happening in Raj Bhavan. The government should release the list of names of central leaders and RSS leaders who called Raj Bhavan,” Ashoka added.
Opposition members demanded that the State Government express regret over the behaviour of the Congress members, which they claimed was an insult to the governor. Ashoka said that Minister HK Patil said that the governor ran away from the House. “We have video evidence. In the footage, Congress legislator BK Hariprasad is shown gesturing towards the governor, while another legislator, Sharath Bacchegowda, is trying to block the governor’s way. The State Government should have expressed regret over the incident,” he said.
The Opposition also criticised the Congress for moving a condemnation resolution instead of passing a vote of thanks on the Governor’s address. Ashoka also pointed out that CM Siddaramaiah has announced to rename gram panchayats after Mahatma Gandhi, while there is a rule that no announcements should be made outside the Assembly during the session. Ashoka said that the governor read a few lines of the speech, but Siddaramaiah and others are making false allegations that he did not read at all.
The Congress government has become a habitual offender in insulting the governor, he said. “During the RCB victory celebrations outside Vidhana Soudha, the governor was invited. As per protocol, when the governor is sitting on the stage, only a certain number of people should be sitting. But here, many people were seen on the stage. Also, there was a whisky logo kept next to the governor... was that not an insult? Where was the protocol?” Ashoka said.