Congress stages walkout in Rajasthan Assembly over Minister’s phone tapping charge

Congress MLAs walk out in Rajasthan Assembly over phone tapping allegation, denied by Minister of State for Home.

The Opposition Congress MLAs staged a walkout in the Rajasthan Assembly on Thursday (February 20, 2025) after the government’s statement on an allegation of Cabinet Minister Kirodi Lal Meena that he was under surveillance and his phone was being tapped. Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham refuted the charge in his statement.

Speaking after the Zero Hour, Mr. Bedham said a statement from Mr. Meena had appeared in the media, in which he talked about his phone being kept on surveillance. “I assure the House with full responsibility that Mr. Meena’s phone has not been intercepted by the government. Mr. Meena has also publicly denied having made the charge,” he said.

Mr. Meena’s remarks at a public event at Amagarh temple near Jaipur had led to an embarrassment to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and caused a turmoil in the State Assembly for the entire day on February 7. The maverick leader had earlier tendered resignation from the State Cabinet in June 2024. The BJP issued a show cause notice to him after his charge, to which he replied last week.

Mr. Bedham said the telephone interception was allowed under the law only for security of the State, maintaining public order and preventing crimes. “Even in the exception circumstances when a phone has to be tapped, it involves a lengthy procedure for seeking mandatory approvals at different levels,” he said.

However, the members in the Opposition benches were not satisfied with the Minister’s reply. Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully said Mr. Meena had not denied making the phone tapping charges and had only said that speaking about it at a public gathering was a mistake. “Contrary to Mr. Bedham’s assertion, Kirodi Ji said he had inputs [about tapping]”, Mr. Jully said.

“It seems there is a lack of trust between Mr. Meena and the government. Mr. Meena had said a few months ago that the Chief Minister suspected that he could create disruption in the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit,” Mr. Jully said.

The Congress demanded that the State government take action against Mr. Meena for making false allegations. Mr. Jully asked why Mr. Meena’s resignation, pending since long, had not been accepted. As the treasury members started shouting at the Opposition, the Congress members staged a walkout from the House.