Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 20 : Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader KP Vivekanand Goud on Tuesday slammed the Telangana government over a notice served to party leader Harish Rao by the SIT probing the phone tapping case.
Vivekanand called the case "entirely fraudulent", asserting further that there is no evidence and the Revanth Reddy government is "wasting time" to harass the opposition.
The case came to light after former DCP P Radhakrishna Rao alleged that telephones belonging to media industry bigwigs, retired cops, and politicians were monitored. This was allegedly done to keep tabs on then Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's political rivals.
During the 2023 assembly elections, officers in Telangana allegedly intercepted the communications of several political leaders, businessmen and Tollywood celebrities, Rao claimed.
Speaking to ANI, Vivekanand Goud said, "The case is entirely fraudulent. The case makes no sense. It has got nothing, no evidence. Unnecessarily, the government is wasting its time only to harass the opposition parties, to harass the leaders of our opposition parties. We will continue questioning the government irregularities, and we will keep reminding the government about the six guarantees which they have promised to deliver in 100 days. Instead of answering these pressing issues, the government is resorting to tactics that aim to throttle our voices."
"The Supreme Court has already ruled that there is no merit in this case, yet the government continues to waste time harassing opposition leaders," he added.
Raising serious allegations against the Telangana government, the BRS leader accused CM Reddy of trying to suppress opposition voices and harass party leaders amid ongoing investigations into the Singareni coal scam.
The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is a government-owned coal mining corporation operating in Telangana, with a significant presence in the state's coal belt area. The company has a complex history, dating back to 1871 when coal was first discovered in the region. Today, SCCL operates 40 mines across six districts in Telangana and contributes 9.2 per cent to India's domestic coal production.
Goudpointed out irregularities in the Singareni coal scam, especially the involvement offormer Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's brother-in-law, Srujan Reddy. He claimed that nearly seven coal mines had been issued at inflated prices, further accusing the government of attempting to hide its tracks.
"Yesterday and the day before yesterday, Telangana's Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu cancelled one of the coal radius contracts based on a site visit certificate. This certificate is the first of its kind in the entire country. Why was this system introduced in Telangana? We raised this question in the assembly, but the government has avoided providing answers," he informed.
Meanwhile, BRS leader Harish Rao described as "political gimmicks" the summons he recieved by the Special Investigation Team in the phone-tapping case."It's all political gimmicks," Rao told mediapersons at the Jubilee Hills Police Station, where he was summoned for questioning in the case.
Further, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Tuesday alleged that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy issued notices to Rao in the phone-tapping matter solely to divert public attention after his exposure in the coal scam involving his brother-in-law, Srujan Reddy.
According to an official release, Rao accused the CM of "diverting public attention" from the alleged involvement of his brother-in-law, Srujan Reddy, in the case, by issuing notices to Harish Rao. He accused the Congress government of taking political vendetta to its extreme limits.
KTR recalled that the Supreme Court itself had clearly stated that there was no substance in the phone-tapping case and that it was nothing but an act of political vendetta, the release noted.
KTR further alleged that they had "exposed with evidence the illegal coal mine allocation scam involving Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's brother-in-law Sujan Reddy", describing the notices served to Harish Rao as "an escape from this massive scam".
He mocked this as a classic "Revanth Reddy-style diversion politics."
"Smearing opposition leaders and intimidating them with notices to escape corruption allegations has become a habit of this government," he stated.