Congress using phone tapping probe for vendetta: RS Praveen

Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader RS Praveen Kumar has raised serious questions about the ongoing investigation into the phone tapping controversy in Telangana.

Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad on Sunday, June 29, Praveen Kumar questioned whether the probe is being conducted by Special Investigation Team (SIT) officials or by Congress leaders stationed at Gandhi Bhavan.

“Is the phone tapping investigation being handled by SIT officials or by Congress leaders at Gandhi Bhavan?” Praveen Kumar asked, expressing doubts about the impartiality of the probe.

He further alleged that the Congress government was responsible for initiating phone tapping in the state.

“Phone tapping started during the Congress regime. Since the formation of our party in 2001, the phones of our leaders have been tapped,” he said.

Recalling incidents from the Telangana movement, Praveen Kumar stated, “During the agitation, then chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy tapped my phone. Current minister Ponnam Prabhakar had complained to the then DGP about this. Let us not forget that incident.”

The BRS leader accused the Congress of using the phone tapping issue as a tool for political vendetta. “The Congress is resorting to conspiracies in the name of phone tapping only because we are questioning their failures. BRS came to power based solely on the trust of the people, not by relying on intelligence reports or phone tapping,” he asserted.