Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 31 : Telangana Congress Leader Mettu Sai Kumar on Saturday said that the Special Investigative Team probing the alleged phone-tapping scandal during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) regime in Telangana was simply doing its job and denied allegations of "playing politics."
The response by Kumar, who is Chairman of the Fishermen Co-Operative Societies Federation comes in the wake of criticism by BRS Working President KT Rama Rao slamming Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy after the State police refused a request by former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's (KCR) to examine him at his Erravelli residence in connection with the alleged phone tapping case.
Speaking to ANI, Sai Kumar said, "Under Section 160 of CrPC, they are summoned only as witnesses. K Kavitha, daughter of former CM KCR, said that her phone and her husband's phone were tapped. SIT is doing its work, and the police will not spare anyone who breaks the law... Congress leader Mahesh Goud was also called... We are not playing politics with anyone."
"The BRS Party and KTR are always trying to play politics. The SIT is doing its job properly. KTR should respond to his sister Kavitha's remarks that her phone and her husband's phone were tapped during their tenure; KTR has to respond to her statement," he added.
KTR called it Revanth Reddy's "arrogance" and said the police are violating the rules by not questioning a person over 65 years old at their residence.
In an X post, KTR wrote, "What is this despicable attitude towards KCR, the architect of Telangana, the Leader of the Opposition, and former Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy? Even after KCR himself replied to your police with his residential address, where he is staying, it is deplorable that they came to a residence where he is not staying in the middle of the night and pasted notices on the gate to derive demonic pleasure from it. If this is not arrogance, then what is it?"
"Your police are also violating the rule that individuals over 65 years old should be questioned at their actual place of residence. Do your police even have any awareness of Standard Operating Procedures? Or are they mere puppets in your hands, tasked only with harassing opposition leaders in this manner?" he added.
Further, the BRS leader said that the party will challenge the phone-tapping case against KCR, calling it "illegal.""You may have no respect for the law, justice, or righteousness, but we have complete faith in them. We will challenge all these illegal cases. We will expose every wrongful act of yours and place it before the people of Telangana. The people are watching how many harassments you are resorting to. Without fail, when the time comes, they will teach you a lesson in the court of the people," he said.
This comes after KCR had requested that the SIT reschedule the date and location of his questioning, citing his busy schedule ahead of the state's upcoming municipal elections.
Refuting his request, Telangana Police said that examination under Section 160 of the CrPC is tied to the ordinary place of residence as per records. Police further explained that the case involves sensitive electronic and physical records, which cannot be moved to a village location.
The SIT directed KCR to appear at his residence in Hyderabad on February 1 at 3 pm.
The case relates to widespread allegations of illegal phone surveillance and interception of media industry bigwigs, retired cops, and politicians during the BRS government tenure. Former DCP P Radhakrishna Rao alleged that it was done to monitor then-Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's political rivals.
Earlier, former minister Harish Rao, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR), and former BRS MP Santosh Rao were questioned by the SIT at its Jubilee Hills office in connection with the same case.
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