Hyderabad, June 17 (UNI) Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president and MLC Mahesh Kumar Goud made serious allegations against the previous BRS government, calling the phone-tapping scandal a politically motivated conspiracy.

Speaking to the media after appearing before the Jubilee Hills ACP as a witness on Tuesday, Goud stated that his number was among those tapped and he has submitted a detailed statement to the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

"Phone-tapping is an undemocratic act. It was done with the clear intention to eliminate political rivals," said Goud.

He revealed that during the 2023 elections, he and then TPCC president Revanth Reddy had filed a formal complaint with the chief secretary against the surveillance activities.

According to Goud, over 650 Congress leaders were subjected to illegal phone surveillance, along with leaders from BJP and TDP. He claimed that the 2018 electoral defeat of the Congress was a result of this mass surveillance, alleging that tapping was carried out in every constituency where the party lost.

He further alleged that senior bureaucrats, including the then chief secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP, and Home Secretaries, were complicit in the operation, acting under political pressure. “Even without any official position, Prabhakar Rao was made to sit in the IG’s post and oversee the tapping operations,” he added.

Goud said that hard disks containing evidence were destroyed soon after the Congress came to power, in an attempt to wipe out traces of the surveillance. He also accused the BRS government of portraying Congress leaders as Naxal sympathisers to justify the tapping.

Calling for strict accountability, Goud demanded that former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), K T Rama Rao (KTR), and all officials involved be brought to justice. "No one should be spared. The Supreme Court has already termed this phone-tapping case as a special case in the country," he asserted.

UNI VV PRS