Though he said he had answered every query posed by the SIT, he described the probe as repetitive, “where officials spent hours reading out hundreds of names without presenting any concrete evidence.”
Published Jan 23, 2026 | 8:56 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 23, 2026 | 8:56 PM
File photo of KTR. (KTRTRS/Facebook)
Synopsis: BRS Working President KT Rama Rao has accused the Congress government in Telangana of using the phone-tapping case to create “entertainment” and distract from its own alleged failures. KTR said the inquiry was repetitive, lacked evidence, and was being used as a “diversionary tactic”.
BRS Working President KT Rama Rao has accused the ruling Congress in Telangana of using the investigation into the alleged phone-tapping case during the previous BRS regime as a “calculated diversionary tactic” to distract from its own failings.
After appearing before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Hyderabad police on Friday, January 23, for nearly eight hours of questioning, the former minister addressed a press meet, with party members and supporters in tow.
He accused the state of using investigative agencies to create “entertainment” for the public in a bid to “distract them from the state’s mounting administrative failures and unfulfilled electoral promises.”
Though he said he had answered every query posed by the SIT, he described the probe as repetitive, “where officials spent hours reading out hundreds of names without presenting any concrete evidence.”
KTR said the BRS is a law-abiding party and is not intimidated by political vendettas or police notices.
He added that if the party leadership were afraid, they would have sought legal stays or requested extensions. Instead, both he and T. Harish Rao appeared immediately after being summoned.
KTR also claimed that the culture of phone tapping has not only continued but has spread within the current government itself, citing reports of a sitting minister telling journalists he could not speak freely because he was under surveillance.
He asked why the government stayed silent on these allegations while using the SIT to peddle “fictional stories” to tarnish the opposition. At the same time, he questioned why no SITs had been formed to probe high-profile corruption allegations involving the current leadership.
Pointing to specific cases, KTR cited an alleged ₹300 crore extortion attempt involving a minister’s OSD, land-grabbing allegations against a revenue minister’s son, and the award of AMRUT scheme tenders to the Chief Minister’s brother-in-law.
If the law were truly equal for all, he said, these “documented cases of corruption” would face the same scrutiny as the current SIT inquiry.
