Ahead of Goa Assembly election results, Congress accuses BJP of phone tapping
The Hindu
‘BJP resorting to underhand tactics as it fears voting trend has gone against them’
A week ahead of the results to the 40-seat Goa Assembly election, the Goa Congress has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of tapping the phones of senior Congress leaders while claiming that the BJP is resorting to underhand tactics as it knew it would lose the election.
Pradesh Congress chief Girish Chodankar, speaking to reporters in Panaji, hit out at the Pramod Sawant-led BJP government for “misusing power” and snooping on the Congress leaders, including Assembly leader Digambar Kamat.
“The BJP is baffled by the voting trend which clearly shows that the saffron party will be sent home. So, it has hired an agency to hack the phones of the Congress leaders to find a way to come to power illegally,” alleged Mr. Chodankar, urging authorities to probe the matter and take suitable action.
He expressed confidence that the Congress and its ally, the Vijai Sardesai-led Goa Forward Party, would win more than 22 of the 40 Assembly seats.
The election, which was held on February 14, had witnessed a fierce multi-cornered fight, with regional parties like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the fray besides the Congress and the BJP.
Congress leader Michael Lobo, who contested from Calangute, rejected rumours that the BJP’s top leaders were in contact with him while stressing that the Congress would win absolute majority and would stake claim to form government on March 10 (day of results) itself by 5 p.m.
Mr. Lobo, a former BJP leader who was a Cabinet Minister before exiting the saffron party ahead of the polls, said the BJP was “a master in spreading such rumours” and that nobody ought to believe in them.
They will be installed at strategic locations, under the safe city project, to help in traffic management, monitor any untoward incident like road rage, hit-and-run, harassment of women, and other law and order issues round the clock. The cameras linked to the command centre can also be used for both law and order and traffic management, the officials added.