SIT a ‘time pass exercise’ by Cong govt to hide its failures, fumes KTR
BRS working president labels phone tapping investigation a baseless political diversion
Alleging political vendetta behind the ongoing phone tapping probe, BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Thursday termed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) a “time pass exercise”. He dismissed the case as baseless and described it as a calculated political diversion intended to mask the failures of the current administration while providing an endless narrative for public consumption.
While assuring his cooperation with the probe, the BRS leader made it clear that he would not tolerate political harassment. Addressing the media at Sircilla, Rama Rao claimed the SIT proceedings resembled a “daily television serial” rather than a genuine inquiry.
He asserted that notices were being issued selectively to opposition leaders for political mileage, while the senior police and intelligence officials who actually oversaw the system in the past were being kept away from questioning.
Rama Rao maintained that every government in the country relies on intelligence agencies for law and order and safeguarding stability. He noted that surveillance mechanisms have existed since the era of Jawaharlal Nehru and continue under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These systems, he argued, function within the police and intelligence establishment and do not operate at the discretion of ministers or political executives.
He questioned why former intelligence chiefs and top police directors, including current DGP Shivadhar Reddy, former DGP Mahender Reddy, and former DGP and Home Secretary Jitender, were not being summoned. “If the probe is honest, these officers should be questioned first,” he said, accusing the government of spinning a story for public entertainment instead of seeking the truth.
The BRS leader further challenged the state government to produce a single senior official who would publicly state that opposition phones are not currently being tapped. He accused the administration of allowing selective leaks to the media while avoiding formal press briefings. “For two years this case has gone on, yet there has not been a single official press conference—only anonymous stories,” he alleged. He accused the Chief Minister of using the controversy to buy time during foreign visits to Davos and Harvard.
Drawing parallels with the 2015 MLA-poaching episode, he suggested that any monitoring done by agencies at that time was strictly to prevent the destabilisation of the elected government. He emphasised that surveillance mechanisms exist solely for national security and public order, not for partisan politics. “That is what I will repeat tomorrow as well. What connection do we have with it, what do we know about it?” he questioned, asserting that even the investigating officers know no substance exists.
