Hyderabad: Former minister Harish Rao on Friday expressed anger over what he described as police excesses during K.T. Rama Rao’s appearance before the SIT in the phone tapping case.
Alleging a deliberate conspiracy, Harish Rao said authorities booked cases against BRS leaders with political intent. He added that KTR attended the inquiry without fear and demanded that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also face questioning in the phone tapping case.
At Jubilee Hills, BRS leaders staged a road protest against police action. Former ministers Errabelli Dayakar Rao and Koppula Eshwar, along with former MLAs Shankar Naik and Kranti Naik, joined the protest.
Phone tapping case protest draws sharp warning from Harish Rao
During the protest, Harish Rao questioned the conduct of police personnel and warned them against political bias. According to him, the government deliberately inducted officers nearing retirement into the SIT to target BRS leaders.
He cautioned that officials who acted illegally or issued false leaks would face consequences. Retirement, he said, would not shield anyone from accountability. Even retired officers would face questioning if they violated the law.
Urging restraint, Harish Rao advised police to act strictly according to law and not political directions. Referring to alleged instructions issued from Davos, he said officers must ignore unlawful orders.
The former minister accused the Congress government of pursuing political vendetta against the BRS. He said attempts to intimidate the opposition would fail and asserted that KTR attended the inquiry confidently because he committed no wrongdoing.
Raising further questions, Harish Rao asked why authorities ignored earlier defamatory campaigns against BRS leaders. He demanded a probe into allegations against the Chief Minister as well, stating that only a fair investigation would bring out the truth.