Congress leader D K Shivakumar raises doubts about his phone being tapped, govt rubbishes claim
Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar on Friday said he has doubts that his phone was being tapped and sought an investigation into it.
State Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, however, rubbished Shivakumar's claims and said the BJP government was 'responsible' and would not resort to such acts.
"You call my phone, you can't hear the voice, all these days it was fine, from morning I have tried about 20 calls, the voice is not audible," Shivakumar told reporters here.
Asked whether his phone was being tapped, he said, hundred per cent he has doubts about it. But he did not want to make any direct allegation without evidence, the Congress leader said and demanded an investigation.
Later, he also wrote to Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant, saying during the last 2-3 days voice cannot be heard properly during incoming and outgoing calls and there were "unwanted disturbance and sounds".
"I have strong doubts that my phone calls are being tapped. So I request you to get it investigated appropriately and take necessary action," he Shivakumar said.
Reacting to his remarks, Bommai, in a statement said, there was no question of tapping Shivakumar's phone.
"Ours is a responsible government and will not stoop to the low of tapping phones, also we don't have that necessity. If he could not speak to his party leaders when they called, he should inquire with telephone companies about it. Alleging it as telephone tapping is not right," the Minister said.
Noting that the CBI was investigating the telephone tapping case during the previous Congres-JDS rule of which Shivakumar was a part, Bommai said, "such experiences can happen during their government. This government is not worried about Shivakumar's activities, also there is no need for it."
The BJP government in August last year had ordered a CBI probe into the alleged phone tapping during the Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy in which Shivakumar was a cabinet Minister.
The Kumaraswamy government that was rocked by dissidence was accused of tapping phones and spying on a number of people in a bid to avert its collapse.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
