Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (MS)

Bengaluru, Aug 22: Phone tapping issue has cropped up again in the state. D K Shivakumar, president KPCC has made serious accusations in this regard and has asked police commissioner of Bengaluru city to conduct an investigation in this regard.

Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and R Ashok have vehemently denied Shivakumar's allegations and have said that there is no need for the BJP government to get involved in such a cheap tactic as phone-tapping.

Expressing suspicion of phone-tapping, D K Shivakumar said, "I do not get proper calls on my phone nowadays. I feel my phone is being tapped. I will not accuse without proof. V R Sudarshan of our party had called me but I could not hear his call."

In his letter to the Bengaluru police commissioner Shivakumar says, "From the last two days, there is lots of difference in the incoming and outgoing calls that are being made and received on my phone. I am not able to hear the voice of the caller properly. There is an unexpected increasing and lowering of volume. Unnecessary sounds are being heard. When I look at all these things, I feel that my phone might have been tapped. So I request you to conduct an investigation in this regard."

Reacting to the allegation, home minister Basavaraj Bommai said, "Our is a responsible government. We will not stoop to the level of phone-tapping. There is no necessity for the government to do such a thing.

"CBI is already investigating the phone-tapping that was done by the Congress government, of which Shivakumar was a part. Congress government has good experience in this regard. BJP government is not bothered about the activities of D K Shivakumar.

"The accusation of Shivakumar that the BJP government is meddling in the investigation of riots that took place in DJ Halli and KG Halli is also baseless. Police personnel are carrying out their duties in an unbiased manner. Shivakumar's statement is an attempt to protect the rioters and lower the morale of the police force. It will not succeed," Bommai said.

Revenue minister R Ashok said, "Everyone knows that the CBI is still investigating the phone-tapping case that took place when the Congress government was in power. Now the investigation has reached a particular phase. People who were involved in the phone-tapping case themselves are accusing others. This is ridiculous.

"Home minister Bommai will not stoop to the level of phone-tapping. Bommai has not grown in such culture. Phone-tapping is the culture of the Congress party. State BJP government does not want to tap phones. Congress is suffering from insecurity within the party itself. So Shivakumar is unnecessarily accusing BJP," he added.

Saleem Ahmed, working president of KPCC backed Shivakumar's allegation. "There is a suspicion that the KPCC president's phone is being tapped. His calls were being getting diverted to my phone. I called him twice or thrice to inform the same to him. However, Shivakumar could not receive my call. Later I called his landline and passed on the information. Later when Shivakumar checked, we felt that his phone is getting tapped."