Telangana Chief Minister admits to phone tapping, says it’s not illegal

CM Revanth Reddy sparked controversy by admitting his government engages in phone tapping, stating it is legal if done with “proper permissions.” His remarks, made during an informal media interaction in Delhi, come amid allegations of surveillance on political opponents and Cabinet colleagues.

Hyderabad: In a confession of sorts that poses questions on the intentions behind the phone tapping case being pursued by the Congress government, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday said phone tapping is not illegal, “if done with proper permissions”, and also admitted that his government was tapping phones.

The statement, made during an informal interaction (chit chat) with the media in New Delhi, comes in the wake of recent allegations that Revanth Reddy was tapping the phones of not just political opponents, but his own Cabinet colleagues.

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“Yes, our government taps phones. All governments do. It is not illegal if done with proper permissions,” he is believed to have told media persons, and reportedly dismissed concerns on privacy.

Revanth Reddy’s statement has triggered multiple questions, particularly after his nearly two years of relentless pre-election rhetoric accusing former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and BRS working president KT Rama Rao of spying on opponents and undermining democracy. He had claimed that his own and his family’s phones were tapped.

However, during the candid conversation with journalists in Delhi, he shifted gears, stating he had doubts whether his phone was tapped. The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is investigating the phone tapping case, would have otherwise summoned him for questioning, he claimed.

“If they summon me, I will go. But I do not think my phone was tapped. Otherwise, the SIT would have summoned me,” he reportedly told the media.

The Congress government had appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), arrested multiple police officers, and summoned several officials and politicians from both Congress and BJP as part of a high-profile probe.

Now, with Revanth Reddy himself stating that phone tapping was not illegal if done with ‘proper permissions’, the legitimacy of the phone tapping case is being questioned.

Political observers felt the Chief Minister’s shift stemmed from mounting evidence that his administration was involved in snooping practices that he once condemned.

Revanth Reddy’s apparent attempt to normalise State surveillance, stating that phone tapping was not illegal, now lends credibility to the opposition’s charge that the SIT probe was a politically motivated witch-hunt.