Vijayapura, Nov 7 (DHNS): Water Resources Minister M B Patil on Monday charged that the Income Tax Department officials are tapping his phone.

He told reporters here that phones of his wife, son and lawyers, who look after their businesses, are being tapped for political reasons. A complaint will be registered in this regard soon, he added.

Patil said he will make public the details of his phone tapping at an appropriate time.

He also charged the phones of Energy Minister D K Shivakumar and Public Works Minister H C Mahadevappa are being tapped from the last one-and-a-half years.

Meanwhile, Patil is understood to have complained to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the Income Tax Department has been tapping his phones for the past few days.

Sources close to the Patil said the minister got the phone tapping confirmed with the help of some experts in the field. The chief minister is learnt to have told Patil not to panic and that appropriate measures will be taken in this regard.

Patil, who is spearheading a movement for separate religion tag for Lingayat faith, had recently expressed fear that he could be the next target of Income Tax department after Shivakumar.