Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said that phone tapping could be done by the government for security reasons.
Published Jul 24, 2025 | 9:49 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 24, 2025 | 9:49 AM
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
Synopsis: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that there was nothing wrong with a government tapping phones of anyone, but it had to be done by following the prescribed procedure. The chief minister said that phone tapping could be done by the government for security reasons.
In an interesting admission, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday, 23 July, said that there was nothing wrong with a government tapping phones of anyone, but it had to be done by following the prescribed procedure.
The chief minister made the observation during an informal interaction with media persons in Delhi. “It is not illegal. There are a set of rules the police should follow if they want to tap any particular phone,” he said.
The chief minister’s observation came three days after South First carried a report on how he was keeping tabs on his ministers. The story, published on 20 July, gave an account of how allegations had surfaced in regard to incumbent chief minister A Revanth Reddy keeping himself informed all the time of what his cabinet colleagues were doing behind his back.
When a minister sought to know from him how he came to know what he and another of his colleagues spoke on the phone, the chief minister reportedly told him that it was his job to know who was doing what behind his back.
At the informal interaction in Delhi on Wednesday, the chief minister, responding to questions on phone tapping during the BRS regime, said that he did not think his phone was tapped when he was in the Opposition.
“If my number had been tapped, the SIT that is probing the phone tapping allegations would have called me to give my statement. They have so far not done so,” the chief minister said, adding that he was ready to testify if the SIT calls him.
The chief minister, as is his habit, slammed the erstwhile BRS regime. Without naming KCR, he said: “Under the BRS dispensation, the phones of the family members (of KCR) were tapped. There cannot be a worse muddle than this. If I were in his place, I would have hanged myself (to death).”
In yet another shocking observation, the chief minister said that there was no case against anyone on phone tapping charges per se. “There is only a case in connection with the destruction of tapping devices.”
He recalled that it was BRS leader RS Praveen Kumar who complained of phone tapping. The chief minister further said that KTR (former minister KT Rama Rao) had been saying that the government could tap any phones if necessary. “If that were the case, let him appear before the SIT and make the statement,” the chief minister dared him.
The chief minister said that phone tapping could be done by the government for security reasons. He said he did not bother about the investigation details of the case. “The SIT is doing the investigation. I am not vindictive. The police would go ahead in accordance with the rules and take appropriate steps,” the chief minister said.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
