State govt tapping my phones, claims HDK

JD(S) leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday accused the State government of tapping his telephones.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy claimed that his telephones were being monitored more closely ever since he questioned the controversial Swiss-made Hublot watch worn by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

He said his telephones were being tapped ever since Siddaramaiah government came to power. “I had called Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad when the UPA government was in power. Azad had cautioned me that I should not call him from my phone,” Kumaraswamy said.

He said if not for the phone-tapping, he would expose more scams of the State government. The intelligence wing was tapping his telephones using sophisticated gadgets, he said.

Replying to queries by the media, BJP leader Jagadish Shettar said his phones and also those of the Opposition leaders were being tapped. “There is a distinct echo and static during calls, which is an indication that phones are being tapped,” he said.