The Congress government in Rajasthan said on Wednesday that “no illegal tapping” of telephone conversations of any legislator was carried out during the political crisis in the State in July last year.
The phones of some individuals were kept on surveillance by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan police under the Indian Telegraph Act as part of an investigation, it stated.
Replying to a debate on the issue in the State Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal said an inspector in the SOG’s Voice Logger section had reported after tapping some phones that attempts were being made to topple the government through horse-trading. The tapping was done following a tip-off about the supply of explosives and smuggling of illegal weapons.
Mr. Dhariwal said the Opposition BJP’s allegations of phone tapping of MLAs, MPs and Ministers and the claim of breach of their privacy were “false and baseless”. “If they prove their allegation with evidence, not only Chief Minster Ashok Gehlot, but all of us are ready to resign,” he said.
The Minister said the matter could be settled if Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat agreed to give his voice sample for investigation. The audio clips leaked during the turmoil caused by the then Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot's rebellion had purportedly carried the conversations between Mr. Shekhawat and several BJP and Congress leaders.
