Congress faces storm over phone tapping row; Ministers seek Rahul’s intervention

Revanth Reddy's defence of phone tapping has sparked dissent within Congress, with Ministers reportedly planning to raise the issue with Rahul Gandhi. The fallout undermines the party’s earlier stance against BRS snooping, triggering a credibility crisis ahead of local polls

Hyderabad: The political storm over phone tapping in Telangana is taking a dramatic turn, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy‘s remarks in Delhi on the issue raising fresh doubts about his intentions and timing. Sources claim that his admission, ‘all governments tap phones’, came soon after learning that several Ministers were planning to meet Rahul Gandhi to complain about his surveillance of their private conversations.

Party insiders said Revanth Reddy’s attempt to normalise the practice by insisting that phone tapping was not illegal if permissions were obtained, had failed to calm unrest within the Congress. Instead, it has boomeranged, with dissenting Ministers viewing the statement as a pre-emptive move to contain rebellion.

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Amid speculations that even the phone of AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan was being tapped, the Ministers are sceptical that any leniency could only harm them in future. Of around half a dozen Ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, currently in Delhi, at least two are learnt to have sought a personal audience with Rahul Gandhi. Two other Ministers who are currently in the State, also are learnt to be making efforts to meet Rahul Gandhi and AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge in this regard.

Sources said the Chief Minister could soon hold separate meetings with the aggrieved colleagues upon his return from Delhi. Though the Cabinet meeting scheduled to be held on Friday was said to have been postponed due to the ‘OBC Bhagidari Nyay Maha Sammelan’ where half of the Cabinet is participating, it is now learnt that the Ministers used it as an excuse to stay back and discuss the issue with the party leadership, while Revanth Reddy returned to Hyderabad on Friday afternoon.

During an informal interaction with the media in Delhi earlier this week, the Chief Minister had tried to play down the scandal, claiming that phone tapping was not illegal, and that all governments do it, provided due permissions were obtained.

His attempt to normalise the practice has done little to quell discontent, with many in his party questioning the ethics and legality of such surveillance on his own party leaders, including Cabinet colleagues.

They also point out that the admission has undermined the Congress’ attack on the previous BRS government, which it had accused of snooping and political espionage. The Congress had used the issue aggressively during its Parliament election campaign to attack BRS and divert attention from unfulfilled promises, which however, is now backfiring.

Opposition parties are expected to seize on this opening, turning the snooping scandal into a rallying point against the Congress, ahead of the local body elections. BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan even likened the affair to “Watergate-style overreach”, demanding a judicial inquiry to restore institutional integrity and public trust.

As a result, the fallout is twofold, with Ministers no longer trusting their Chief Minister, and the Congress’ credibility on the very issue it weaponised coming under serious question.