Naidu writes to PM over ‘phone tapping’

HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday demanded that the Centre order a high-level inquiry into the alleged telephone tapping by the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the state.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister alleged that the YSR Congress government in the state was tapping of phones of opposition leaders, advocates, journalists and social activists. He accused the CM of perpetrating a “jungle raj” on the people of the state.

The TDP chief alleged that the ruling party and some private individuals were using sophisticated technology and illegal software to tap phones.

“This is in a violation of the Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India that protect the fundamental rights of citizens. The ruling YSRCP is using illegal tactics to safeguard its power by intimidating and blackmailing the opponents and dissenting voices. These illegal activities are posing a serious threat to the right to privacy in the State,” he said.

“It appears that the ruling YSRCP has now even targeted judiciary, the third pillar of the democracy, as it is facing hurdles from the judiciary,” Naidu said.

Naidu said the Centre should take stringent action in this regard.

“If these nefarious activities were not put to an end, they would emerge as a bigger threat to national security and sovereignty of the country as a whole,” he said.

In a related development, YSRC rebel lawmaker K Raghurama Krishnam Raju made similar complaints to Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla on Sunday.

Alleging that the state intelligence department was tapping his two numbers, he requested that the Centre order a probe against Jagan government.

Andhra Pradesh home minister Mekathoti Sucharitha refuted the allegations. She accused Naidu of making baseless allegations to tarnish the image of the Jagan government. “Are you an anti-social element or a terrorist? Or are you afraid that your money laundering activities will come out if telephone tapping is done?” she asked.