Hyderabad: BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao on Thursday accused the Congress-led Telangana government of weaponising the phone-tapping investigation. He said this was done to divert public attention from its governance failures.
While speaking in Sircilla, KTR dismissed the SIT probe as nothing more than a “daily television serial.” He claimed the real aim was to target BRS leaders. Additionally, he accused the government of deliberately ignoring top police and intelligence officers who previously oversaw surveillance operations.
Questions SIT’s credibility, seeks probe into Congress links
KTR raised doubts about the investigation’s fairness. He questioned why DGP Shivadhar Reddy, ex-DGP Mahender Reddy, former Home Secretary Jitender, and Special Chief Secretary Ravi Gupta hadn’t been summoned. In his view, a legitimate inquiry would begin with those who managed intelligence. It would not start with politicians.
Surveillance, he noted, has existed since Nehru’s era and continues under Modi’s leadership. It functions through police systems, not under the direction of political leaders. He dared the government to produce even one senior official who could swear that no phone tapping is taking place today.
Targeting Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, KTR alleged that the probe was a smokescreen for foreign trips. According to him, SIT notices were strategically timed to shift focus from scandals like the Singareni coal contract issue.
Accuses government of media leaks, ignoring earlier complaints
KTR accused the state of selectively leaking probe details to the media while avoiding transparent press briefings. For the past two years, he said, no official press meets have been held. Only anonymous reports have surfaced. He also recalled similar past claims by Congress leaders Komatireddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy about phone tapping, which the government never denied.
He demanded SIT inquiries into contracts linked to Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and Srujan Reddy, particularly in the coal and AMRUT projects. Documents regarding these contracts, he said, had already been submitted to central authorities.
KTR expressed frustration over the lack of action on a Supreme Court panel report. The report allegedly flagged ₹10,000 crore in irregularities in Gachibowli land transactions.
BRS ready to cooperate but won’t tolerate political targeting
Clarifying his stand, KTR stated that neither he nor any BRS leader had done anything wrong. The party would fully cooperate with the SIT but would not tolerate politically motivated harassment.
Citing the 2015 MLA-poaching case, he said intelligence was used then to protect an elected government, not for political advantage. He called on the DGP and Intelligence IG to publicly affirm—under oath—that no illegal surveillance is currently happening in Telangana.
“Surveillance should serve national security—not political ends,” KTR said. “And that’s exactly what I’ll say again tomorrow—what connection do we even have with it?”