BJP accuses Karnataka govt of phone tapping, as minister claims Guv gets calls from centre
Bengaluru (PTI): There was chaos in Karnataka Assembly, as the BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress government of tapping phones at Lok Bhavan, following the state Minister H K Patil claimed that Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot was getting calls from Delhi and functioning under instructions of the centre.
BJP MLAs called the Siddaramaiah-led government a "phone tapping government", and questioned how the state's Ministers were accessing information on the phone calls received by the Lok Bhavan and the Governor.
The issue cropped up during the debate on motion of thanks to the Governor's address to the joint sitting of the state legislature.
In a high drama in Karnataka Assembly, the Governor on January 22 had refused to read the state-prepared address to a joint session of the state legislature and concluded his customary speech in just three lines, evoking a sharp reaction from the Congress government in the state.
The Governor had refused to deliver the customary address to the Karnataka legislature, taking exception to certain critical references to the Centre and its decision to "repeal" the UPA-era employment guarantee act, MGNREGA.
Intervening during the debate on motion of thanks, on Wednesday, BJP MLA Suresh Kumar hit out at the Congress government for disrespecting and making unnecessary allegations against Governor Gehlot.
He pointed out that in the past too Governors have placed their address on the table of the Assembly, without reading it completely during the joint session.
Citing records, he pointed out that the then Governor Hansraj Bhardwaj in January 2011 (when BJP was in power in the state) had tabled his address to the joint session of state legislature to be taken as read, following the then leader of opposition Siddaramaiah urging him not to read the speech as the then BJP government was corrupt.
While responding to this, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil alleged that the current Governor is getting instructions over calls from Delhi.
"Following calls from Delhi the Governor did not read the full speech, we will also have to speak about it now, as you spoke about the earlier incident (involving then Governor Bhardwaj)."
Strongly reacting to this Suresh Kumar said, the Law Minister was making a serious allegation, "is the government tapping the Raj Bhavan (Lok Bhavan) phones, to know about the Governor getting calls from Delhi?"
As several BJP members stood in support of Kumar and questioned whether the government was tapping Lok Bhavan phones, things turned chaotic in the Assembly.
Another BJP MLA Sunil Kumar said the Law Minister has accepted that the government was tapping the Lok Bhavan phones. "How can this be tolerated? This is the second time the law minister has said this in the House. Is phone tapping happening?" he asked.
IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge, jumping to the defence of Law Minister Patil, said the latter was only alleging that the Governor was acting like a "puppet in the hands of the central government".
However, BJP members demanded that the Law Minister give an explanation about his statement that has raised serious doubts whether the state government was tapping the Lok Bhavna's phones.
Priyank Kharge even went a step ahead and alleged that the Governor was getting calls from Keshava Krupa (RSS Karnataka State Headquarters). To this BJP members said Congress gets calls from Italy.
Following this Sunil Kumar and other BJP members alleged that the state government has stooped to the level of tapping the Governor's phone. "The Law Minister has repeatedly said that the Governor was getting a call from Delhi. How did they know? if they have records, let them place it in the House."
He further said that both IT Minister Priyank Kharge and Law Minister H K Patil seem to be involved in the Lok Bhavan phone tapping.
Senior BJP MLAs Suresh Kumar, Sunil Kumar and others sticking to the issue accused the government of tapping the Lok Bhavan's phones and the Governor and called it a "phone tapping government."
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka too seconded the allegations of phone tapping.
Replying to this H K Patil asked why there is no clarification either from the Governor or the centre till now, as he had made allegations about the Governor getting calls from the centre, for the first time last week.
"What is the Home Ministry doing in Delhi? Should they not at least issue a press note saying that there is no communication between the Governor and Home Ministry?" he asked.
This led to heated exchange between opposition and treasury benches as BJP members took strong reservation's to Patil's statement.
Ashoka said Patil and Priyank Kharge's statements prove that the Lok Bhavan and RSS office phones are tapped. "Are our phones also being tapped? This is a phone tapping government."
As the heated argument and chaos continued, the Speaker U T Khader adjourned the House for lunch.
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BJP writes to EC about 'non-deployment' of central forces to avert clash
Kolkata (PTI): The BJP on Sunday wrote to the Election Commission alleging that its workers were not given security and came under attack while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Brigade Parade Ground on March 14 and sought action over the alleged non-deployment of central forces by police.
In a letter to the poll panel, BJP leader Shishir Bajoria claimed that buses carrying party workers to the rally were targeted with bricks in the Girish Park area of north Kolkata, leaving several activists injured, some of whom were hospitalised.
Trouble broke out in the area when BJP activists objected to the putting up of flexes which read 'Boycott BJP', before the house of state minister Shashi Panja and tore down the flexes. Heavy brick batting followed as both sides regrouped along Central Avenue, and the window panes on the ground-floor room of Panja's residence were damaged in stone pelting.
The minister claimed she and several of her party members were injured in the brickbatting by rally-bound BJP supporters.
In the letter, the BJP alleged that despite a substantial deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) ahead of the elections, the forces were not present at the site of the disturbance to ensure the safety of its workers and leaders.
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Putting the onus on TMC for the violence, the letter said, "A large number of buses bringing BJP 'karyakartas' to attend the rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Brigade Parade Ground were subjected to large-scale brick-batting and violence, resulting in several BJP leaders sustaining injuries, many of whom had to be hospitalised."
Attaching purported photos and videos of the clash to back up their claims of TMC instigation, the letter said: "What was particularly of grave concern was that despite a big deployment of CAPF well before the polls, their complete absence at the spot during the disturbance, or in any part of the city of Kolkata."
"We would like to put on record that the presence of Kolkata Police at the spot of disturbance establishes the fact that they had an advance intelligence report of possible violence and yet kept the CAPF out," the BJP leader said in the letter to the CEC Gyanesh Kumar, and Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal.
"Given the seriousness of the incident and the injuries sustained by several of our karyakarta, it raises concerns among citizens regarding the effective deployment of CAPF for preventing violence, and ensuring a free and fair electoral environment," the letter said.
"We request your good office to kindly take the strongest possible action against those who were responsible for this non-deployment of CAPF, resulting in this incident and ensure that in future deployment is carried out in a manner that truly serves its intended purpose of area domination, confidence building, and timely intervention wherever law and order situations arises from now till the elections are over," the letter said.
The BJP also reminded the commission that a party delegation had earlier met the full bench of the poll body on March 9 and raised concerns that CAPF personnel were being deployed for route marches in peaceful areas and highways instead of in locations requiring voter confidence-building measures.
At least eight persons, including a police officer, were injured in brickbatting, which broke out half an hour before the arrival of the Prime Minister at the Brigade Rally. The clash continued for about an hour as both sides fought a pitched battle on the road and nearby by-lanes before reinforcements brought the situation under control.
