With a former police officer arrested in the phone tapping case making startling revelations, the Telangana unit of the BJP on Tuesday, May 28, demanded former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s arrest and prosecution.
Party spokesman N.V. Subhash asked why the Congress government is not arresting the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader despite the evidence of his involvement in phone tapping.
Describing phone tapping as the biggest scam of the BRS, he alleged that the family of KCR, as Chandrasekhar Rao is popularly known, and police officers close to them were involved in the case.
He also said that lack of action by the Congress government in the case shows that BRS and Congress have colluded.
The BJP leader said the confessions of the police officers show that the BRS government harassed several BJP leaders during its rule, adding that a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) can bring out the truth.
Calling KCR’s actions a disgrace to democracy, BJP General Secretary Bandi Sanjay Kumar said, "Phone tapping done under the BRS regime is worse than the Emergency. This is a violation of Constitutional and human rights. KCR’s fear of the BJP is now out in the open."
Kumar was reacting to the reported confession of former Deputy Commissioner of Police Radha Kishan Rao, an accused in the case.
The former DCP revealed details of how the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) was used by the previous BRS government headed by KCR to tap the phones of leaders of opposition parties, businessmen, and even dissidents within the BRS.
Kumar said Radha Kishan Rao’s confession has confirmed his previous statements on the involvement of KCR in the case.
“It is evident now that KCR wanted to fabricate the MLA poaching case as a quid pro quo to protect his daughter (K. Kavitha), who is caught in the liquor scam now. Such a shame that KCR and his gang have not even spared private conversations between couples. As someone who took an oath on the Constitution, KCR not only betrayed the law, but also crushed the basic rights of the citizens,” he said.
The BJP leader believes the BRS chief is unfit to hold any constitutional position, including that of an MLA, and needs to be banned from contesting elections.
"Along with KCR, all those involved in phone tapping from the BRS need to be prosecuted and removed as public representatives from their posts. Despite clear evidence, why isn’t the Congress government arresting KCR? Why hasn’t the main accused, Prabhakar Rao, been brought back from the USA,” he asked.
Kumar also said that former SIB chief Prabhakar Rao’s arrest could reveal more facts about the corrupt practices of the BRS government, adding that if Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has faith in democracy, he should write to the CBI seeking a detailed investigation.
He also demanded that the Assembly Speaker should disqualify KCR as an MLA.