Is Karnataka Governor’s phone being tapped, asks BJP

BJP accuses Karnataka government of phone tapping after Minister claims Governor receives calls from Delhi, sparking chaos in Assembly.

The opposition BJP accused the Congress government in Karnataka of tapping telephone calls at Lok Bhavan, in response to Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil stating in the Assembly that Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot had been ‘receiving instructions from New Delhi over the phone’.

The issue arose on January 28 during a discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address when senior BJP member S. Suresh Kumar recalled events from January 2011. He said that the then Governor H.R. Bharadwaj had set a precedent by walking out of the joint session of the legislature without reading the full text of the address after the then Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah asked him not to deliver the address.

Responding to this, Mr. Patil remarked that the present Governor was receiving calls from Delhi, and acting at the behest of the Centre. His comment triggered chaos in the House.

BJP members strongly objected to the remark, with Mr. Suresh Kumar asking whether the government was tapping phones. “Is the Lok Bhavan phone being tapped? The Law Minister should explain,” he demanded to know.

IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge intervened, alleging that phone calls to Lok Bhavan also came from Keshava Krupa, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Karnataka.

Mr. Suresh Kumar insisted that Mr. Patil’s repeated statements pointed to the seriousness of the issue. “He has again claimed that calls come from Delhi to Lok Bhavan. This means the government is tapping phones,” he insisted, adding that similar remarks were made by the Minister on the day of the Governor’s address.